Devil's Retreat
by DevilWriter N
Summary: Dante has to convince Vergil to go with him on a double date to a secluded cabin otherwise his date is a 'no go'. Vergil refuses. Dante is willing to do anything in return for his cooperation. "Anything?" Vergil slyly replied.DanteXOC,VergilXOC
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hi all! I'm taking a short break from writing the large story I have posted here on FF and I came up with this one in the mean time. Well, this started as a one shot, but the more I continued on it the more it grew! BUT ... I'm keeping it as a shorty! This is supposed to be total humor and Dante and Vergil might be a bit OOC. Although it may be totally lame and utterly pointless, I hope you still enjoy it anyway!

_Devil May Cry and the characters Dante & Vergil property of Capcom. Story idea and OC's belong to me._

Yours Truly,

N.

* * *

**Devil's Retreat**

"Dude, c' mon!"

"No."

"Aw, c' mon."

"No."

"Vergil!"

"No."

No matter how much Dante pleaded with his brother, Vergil was unwilling to cooperate with his plan.

"Why not, Verg?" Dante whined.

"Simply put, camping is not my forte. I have no desire to be one with nature," Vergil closed his eyes and stated with a scowl as he folded his arms in final determination.

"But you wouldn't be one with nature. Dude, I got us a sweet cabin!" Dante retorted with excitement. "_And_, you'd be _one_ with the lovely Beth," Dante slyly stated as he winked and jabbed Vergil with his elbow.

Vergil sighed a response saying, "Yes, and on that subject, I have _no_ desire to be the mercy date to the friend of the female you are trying to seduce or as you stated earlier, _'tap that a–'_ "

"Dammit Vergil! Will you just do this for me?" Dante interrupted. "Ya know she won't let me take her to the cabin alone."

"Smart girl," Vergil replied with a raised eyebrow.

"Look, she said as long as I hooked up her friend to come along, then she'd go."

"No."

"Ugh! You're impossible, you know that?" Dante furrowed his brow and grunted at his brother.

"Not impossible, just indomitable."

"Whatever."

Dante thought for a moment, then as the forty watt bulb went off in his head he smirked and said, "Ok, look, if you do this for me I swear I'll pay you back."

"I don't need you're monetary contribution, besides your broke anyway."

"No, I mean I'll do a favor. Anything. Just ask," Dante smirked.

Vergil glanced over to where Dante was standing and raised his brow. A slight curl appeared on his upper lip. "_Anything_?" he slyly repeated.

Dante didn't like the tone in his voice. He knew the wicked thoughts that swam in his brother's head. He paused a moment, thinking about what he had just offered, but the temptation of having his way with the current tart of choice at a secluded cabin was too much for the young horny devil.

"Well, yeah, anything. Name it," Dante hesitantly confirmed.

Vergil closed his eyes and rubbed his chin in deep thought for a moment. Oh the delight Vergil took in Dante's offer. As he thought about what he would request of his brother in exchange for his cooperation in this escapade, he rather pitied the fact as to how ruled Dante was by his human hormones. _Foolish._

Dante stood there becoming more impatient as the seconds went by.

"C' mon, don't keep me in suspense," Dante sourly taunted.

Just then Vergil opened his eyes with a hint of a devilish grin on his face.


	2. Chapter 2

_Ding ... Ding ..._

The bell above the front door to _Devil May Cry _sounded as two chattering and giggling young females walked in. Their jabbering ceased as they stepped further into the shop and took note of it's empty presence.

"Hello? Dante?" one of the young females called out in the dim empty abode. She looked at her companion and shook her head in confusion. "He told me they'd be here."

The shop was eerily silent and it's dank atmosphere made it all the more unsettling to the girls. Just then, footsteps were heard taping across the hardwood floor coming from the back room. The girls focused on the sound coming closer to the back room door. The footsteps reached the door and paused, then the door slowly creaked open.

Dressed in a deep periwinkle button front shirt, black cargo pants, and black boots; a young, white haired man emerged from out of the dark room. The two girls stood there wide eyed, fixed on the man paused in the doorway now staring at them.

"You must be the companions for this outing," Vergil flatly stated and walked into the room toward the two girls.

"Uh, you ... I assume you must be ... Vergil ... Dante's brother?" one girl inquired.

"That would be a correct assumption," Vergil replied.

"Wow! Dante wasn't kidding. You look _just_ like him!" she replied giggling. She then leaned over to her friend and muttered, "See I _told_ you he was hot!" And the girls shared a giggle between them.

Vergil grumbled at her comparison of he and Dante. Although twins, he despised it when they were thought of as 'the same'. Vergil then narrowed his eyelids and examined the females.

The one that spoke was a rather short buxom blonde. She was fair complected with light pink cheeks. Her long hair was pulled back in a high pony tail, and pale bangs draped over her forehead and framed her round face. Judging by her choice of painted on apparel, Vergil presumed she thought it glorified her figure. Having similar features to the centerfolds Dante panted over, _obviously_, Vergil thought, this one was Dante's date. She stared back at him with large doe eyes colored a shade of jade green. Her eyes seemed to emanate a naive innocence about them. But judging by her demeanor, he was pretty sure that innocence had left her some time ago.

Her companion, about the same height, had dark hair that fell just off her shoulders. This one was well endowed as well, but he noted she choose a more conservative manor of clothing. Her clothes hung looser on her figure to a more normal fit. She choose to wear subdued hues of a tan shirt and black jeans unlike her friend's choice of a powder pink shirt and light bleached jeans. Vergil figured this girl to be more timid than the other. Unlike the blonde who stared at him unmoved with her wide saucer-like eyes, this one only glanced at him occasionally then shyly looked away as she fiddled with the hem on her shirt.

"So, where's Dante?" the blonde inquired.

"Yes, where _is_ Dante?" Vergil slyly replied with a slight grimace. He lowered his head and looked up from under his brow. He took a few steps toward the stair case to the second floor then paused.

"DANTE!" he bellowed out to the upper floor.

The two girls jumped at his outburst.


	3. Chapter 3

Vergil and the two girls stood in silence for a moment with no reply from the second floor. Vergil sighed deep then called again.

"DANTE! IT'S TIME TO COME DOWN!" Vergil yelled out then coyly turned to the ladies and smirked.

The girls looked at each other slightly confused then turned to look at the stairs when a voice finally answered back to Vergil's beckoning.

"ALRIGHT! I'm coming down already!"

Shuffling around was heard upstairs and a door slammed shut. Finally at the top of the steps a figure emerged.

"Ladies! What's happen'n," Dante announced as he trodded down the staircase.

"Da–," the blonde was cheerfully ready to greet her date but she paused in utter confusion when she got a full look at him as he approached the bottom stairs.

"Hey babe, how's it goin'?" Dante stated matter-of-factly.

The blonde, along with her friend, stared at him – jaws dropped and dumbfounded. Vergil, however, stared at his brother grinning in some twisted satisfied delight.

"Uh, Dante, _what_ are you ... wearing?" the blonde cringed as she asked him.

"What do you mean, babe?" Dante doing his best to reply as if nothing was wrong.

"Your clothes ... there not–," the blonde started to say, having trouble getting her words out.

"Uh, their not what?" Dante scratched the back of his head and replied more nervously.

"Well, their not what I expected you'd wear," she managed to say uncomfortably.

"Really? This is how I dress ... uh, _all_ the time," Dante hesitantly stated as he shot a glance over to Vergil casually leaning on the banister, reveling in Dante's awkward situation.

Dante who usually dressed – as he put it – 'slick and stylish in the epitome of cool', was now clad in quite the opposite of attire. He wore a light, pale yellow golf shirt with a pair of preppy gingham shorts. They were pulled a little to high up on his waist and held on by a thick white belt. To round out his fashion choice, he had on tall white socks with short brown hiking boots. And to cap off his look, he had on a pair of thick dark framed glasses and his hair was combed flat and parted to the side.

This was the deal. The one thing that Vergil had come up with in exchange for participating with Dante's date plans ...

_"Well, brother, lets make it a challenge rather than a favor, shall we?" Vergil had finally stated._

_"Like?" Dante added._

_"You're always one to say you swoon the female persuasion with your 'love skills' and 'stylish looks'. Am I correct?"_

_"Yeeeah ... where are you going with this?" Dante questioned._

_"Well, considering we look ... alike," Vergil hesitantly stated, "You always tell me that females avoid me because of my lack of charm and ... personality. Where as you state you 'ooze' it, therefore you 'get it'."_

_"Duh," Dante proudly replied._

_"Well, I'd like to experiment. If we remove the stylish, let's see how well those 'love skills' truly work for you romeo," Vergil sneered._

_"What are you talking about?"_

_"I'm simply talking about no leather, no style, I want you to look as ridiculously stupid as possible for your date," Vergil stated as he folded his arms and closed his eyes._

_"Dude! No way! You can't do that!," Dante barked._

_"Well then, I guess you don't have a date then," Vergil finalized._

_Dante grunted at his brother's ultimatum. Either Dante went along with Vergil's 'experiment' or there was no date at all._

_"Fine," Dante growled._

_"Well, I guess we need to go shopping then," Vergil amusingly stated._

_"Dude, you are truly cold, man. Ice."_


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Thanks to everyone so far for the nice reviews! I'm glad you all are enjoying this little bit 'o silliness! Again, feel free to drop me some comments/reviews! I like to hear what you have to say, every little bit helps!

On with the show... enjoy!

Yours Truly,

N.

* * *

And so it was, Dante was forced to go along with Vergil's experiment for the entire duration of the date – to which Dante sighed heavily since he had reserved the cabin through the whole weekend. Vergil, satisfied with his plan, had also stated that if Dante should choose to break the deal and give up with his guise, that the deal was off and the date would be over. Vergil would make sure of that. Even though _thoroughly_ pissed off at Vergil's choice of 'payback', Dante shrugged it off, figuring he'd score yet again simply do to his sheer 'animal magnetism' that he was so sure women all swooned over.

As always, no matter what Vergil threw at his little brother, Dante always managed to throw right back. Even though Vergil may have the upper hand in this challenge, Dante came up with a brilliant addition to it that Vergil couldn't resist. Dante was _sure_ of that.

_"I dare you to kiss her, Verg," Dante taunted as he picked out his uncharacteristic attire from the clothes rack at the local shopping mall._

_"I will absolutely not," Vergil fussed._

_"Ha, you won't cause you can't. You've always been such a dud," Dante teased as he cringed looking at the pair of gingham shorts Vergil handed off to him._

_"I won't because I will not kiss a female I don't intend on having a serious relationship with," Vergil stated. "Unlike you, who would kiss and ... and grope just about anything with a set of breasts."_

_"Hey now, they better be a nice set of boobs – big squishy ones," Dante seriously stated as he clenched his hands, groping the air in front of him. He paused a moment rubbing his chin in deep thought, then said, "Although little perky ones are just as hot."_

_"You are utterly ridiculous," Vergil sneered as he pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head in disgust._

_"Look, there is NO way you're not going to want to kiss this chick," Dante stated._

_"Really, do tell," Vergil mindlessly answered as he perused the clothes rack._

_"I'm telling you she's hot. And from what I hear a bit of an intellectual … bookworm … ya know, just your type," Dante winked as he informed his brother. "You'll SO kiss her before the weekend's over," Dante made his statement proudly and chuckled._

_Vergil paused from looking at clothes. Was this a challenge? Like the younger son of Sparda, the elder was never one to back down from a challenge. He looked up from under his brow at Dante._

_"You really think I would give into pathetic human lust – that I would kiss this girl?" Vergil questioned Dante._

_"I know you will," Dante stated._

_"And if I do …?" Vergil asked._

_"If you do, well how about you treat me to pizza for a month ... Ooh wait! AND you've gotta wear this crap for a whole month too, in public and on missions!" Dante proudly stated as he held up the horrible tacky attire in his hands._

_"And if I don't?" Vergil stated with a smirk._

_"Then I guess you win," Dante blandly stated._

_There was silence for a moment as the twins flipped through more clothes on the rack. Then Vergil's upper lip curled into a twisted sort of grin._

_"Dante, let's make this interesting, shall we?" Vergil smoothly stated. "Add to this little wager if you should not 'score' as you so plan to with your date this weekend, then you will have to wear this attire for a full month ... in public and on missions."_

_Dante paused from shuffling through clothes and looked into his brother's piercing eyes. Suddenly a wide grin appeared across Dante's face and he chuckled._

_"You're so on! Dude, I can't lose. No matter what I'm wrapped in, the candy is still sweet," Dante confidently answered._

_Vergil sighed deeply and rolled his eyes at Dante's analogy. "Agreed then."_

_"And you're so gonna kiss her," Dante taunted._

_Vergil growled at Dante's teasing then thought; The fool, is he mad? Does he seriously think I'd falter my emotions and kiss some random female? Ha! And he truly thinks his personality will still make him that desirable in this tasteless garb? Absolutely no way. This is too easy! Pity, Dante, get use to wearing this for the weekend, for you'll be wearing it for a whole month._


	5. Chapter 5

The front office of Devil May Cry was filled with an uncomfortable silence as the girls stared at Dante's uncharacteristic attire in confusion. Vergil, on the other hand, just stood there leaning on one arm against the banister of the stairs basking in the sheer brilliance of his dastardly _love-thwarting_ plan.

Suddenly Dante smacked his hands together and spoke up to break the awkward tension. "Alright! So everyone is here, I guess I should introduce you two," he quickly stated.

"Well, you've already met my brother Vergil," Dante said as he held out a hand toward his twin.

The girls both grinned and turned their attention toward Vergil, who in turn, just stared pointedly back at them.

"So, Verg, this is Niki," Dante said as he nodded toward the blonde. "_Also_ known as the Luscious N," Dante smoothly added as he came forward and tried to put an arm around her shoulders.

Vergil rolled his eyes.

"Uh, you can just call me Niki," the blonde flatly corrected, and to Dante's dismay, gracefully side stepped to avoid his advance.

To this, Vergil just slyly grinned._ Excellent._

Dante quickly recovered though, by smoothly pulling his hand back to make like rubbing the back of his head. _Whatever. Score one for Vergil, but this date is just beginning, you'll give in babe ... threads don't make the man ... just wait._ He thought.

Niki then smiled at Vergil as she leaned forward putting her hand out to shake. "Nice to meet you," she said with a giggle.

Vergil stared at the blonde bubbly tart as he leisurely leaned forward off the banister. With a half-smirk on his face he reached out and accepted her greeting. "Charmed," Vergil unenthusiastically answered as he limply shook her hand causing the blonde to lightly blush and giggle.

"Aaaannnd, this fine hottie here is Beth," Dante said as he held out his hand to introduce the girl. "She's _your_ date, dude," he added, casually leaning over and addressing Vergil.

"_Yes_ … I kind of figured as much, thank you, brother," Vergil mocked Dante.

Beth grinned and shyly glanced at Vergil as she timidly held her hand out to greet him. "Hi, it's nice to meet you," she softly said.

Vergil extended his arm to the shy girl's greeting. His long slender fingers loosely clenched Beth's out stretched hand. "Likewise," he unemotionally responded. His hand was soft and smooth but there was something about his touch.

Beth grinned but slightly shuddered at his cool touch. She had agreed to support her friend on this date, and was assured by Niki that Dante's brother was_ 'just like him'_. But there was something about this twin that made her feel slightly uneasy.

As Vergil retracted his hand he smirked and thought to himself. _So this is supposed to be the tempting female I am to succumb my emotions to and kiss. Hardly. You will ultimately loose this wager, Dante, bet on that._

"Okay! Well, now that we all know each other, let's get this party started!" Dante enthusiastically announced.

The girls 'whooted' and giggled in delight at his statement. Vergil, however, seemed quite the opposite and sighed heavily.

As Dante announced their departure, a thought suddenly crossed Vergil's mind about transportation. Dante only had his motorcycle and Vergil didn't have a vehicle simply for the fact he never needed to drive anywhere. So exactly how were they all getting to this retreat? "Dante," Vergil spoke up, "do tell, how are all four of us getting there?"

"Oh I'm driving!" Niki energetically spoke up.

"Really?" Vergil raised a brow and replied as he shot a glance at Dante.

"Uh, oh yeah Verg, Niki has a Jeep ... perfect for getting to the cabin. It _is_ kinda out in the sticks," Dante quickly replied.

"Is that so?" Vergil questioned. "Making your date provide the transportation then," Vergil jabbed.

"Oh, it's alright, I don't mind ... that's what a Jeep's for, right?" Niki jumped in and cheerfully added.

"Yeah, and besides, I'll make up for it later ... right babe?" Dante softly said as he leaned his head into Niki's neck to kiss it.

But the blonde was having none of his advances, and she quickly turned and the girls then walked toward the front door to leave the shop. Dante paused in his stance as she walked away.

He stood back up as Vergil walked up to him. "So far so good, Romeo," he teased as he took his pointer finger and pushed up the thick, dark framed glasses that had slid down on Dante's nose.

Dante sneered at his brother. "Just wait," he flatly stated. He then strolled over to the old worn leather couch in the corner and picked up a large canvas duffel bag. It's contents seemed to make light 'clinking' sounds as he hoisted it over his shoulder.

Vergil squinted at the suspicious noise coming from the bag. "Dante, what _is_ in there?" he accusingly asked and nodded toward the bag.

"Nothin' but a little somethin' to get the party started," Dante casually replied back.

Vergil knew what his statement meant. He grumbled at the thought and really hoped that somewhere in there Dante made room to pack some necessities, for Vergil was vehemently sure he would not be sharing any of his clean underwear or socks with his brother.

Vergil grabbed a black back pack near the door and slung it over his shoulder.

"Dude, is that _all_ you're taking?" Dante asked his brother.

Vergil stared at the obscenely large duffel bag hanging off Dante's shoulder then looked back at his brother. "This pack contains _all_ necessities I should need on this excursion," Vergil flatly stated.

"Okay, suit yourself," Dante replied. The large bag on his shoulder 'clinked' as he adjusted it. "Oh Verg," Dante added as he turned back to his brother. He then made a mock 'kissing' face then shuffled out the door.

Vergil gritted his teeth and growled.

The four walked to the Jeep parked out in front of the shop. The brothers put their bags in the back with the girls things, and then made their way to get in the vehicle.

"I call shotgun!" Dante playfully called out. "You're in the back, dude," he told Vergil and pointed to the rather stubby bench seat where Beth sat.

Vergil sneered at his brother, who seemed to be oblivious to his apathetic attitude. He then stared for a moment at the shy girl seated on the short bench in the back of the vehicle who was nervously grinning back at him. _Well, this will be a most uncomfortable trip._ He thought and hoped it would be a short one.

"C' mon dude, you're holding up the ride!" Dante barked at his brother and gave him a stern shove into the back seat.

Vergil fell forward from the force of Dante's shove into the back of the Jeep. He found himself face to chest with Beth and quickly looked up to see her staring at him wide eyed and blush red.

"Vergil, don't be a perv," Dante teased.

"Knock it off!" Vergil pushed himself off the seat, turned and hissed at his twin.

So with some hesitation, Vergil climbed in the back where Beth was seated. He sat down on the short bench seat, and tried to wedge over as far from her as possible. Beth nervously adjusted her seating and gave Vergil a shy grin.

He was barely adjusted in the back when Dante jumped in the front passenger seat.

"Alright! Let's get this party started!," Dante shouted out as he turned up the radio to a local rock station.

The girls 'whooted' and cheered, Dante hollered, and Vergil closed his eyes and sighed as they sped off to their secluded destination.


	6. Chapter 6

Rolling grassy hills and trees slowly emerged and began replacing the urban setting. The surrounding landscape became more rural while the Jeep sped down the highway toward the secluded retreat.

With the windows down and the air rushing through the open vehicle Dante proclaimed, "Ah! Smell that fresh air!" as he inhaled deep and exhaled.

"I think that stench is cow manure," Vergil flatly corrected him from the back seat.

"Well ... it's _fresh_ cow manure," Dante sourly replied to Vergil's comeback.

"Indeed."

The girls giggled at the twins bantering.

"Were gettin' close," Dante then stated over the radio.

The girls gave an enthusiastic reply and Vergil just stared out the side window as they traveled closer to what he convinced himself to be a most unpleasant weekend. His only assurance of a good time, was that he held true to the thought of Dante losing their little wager and having to live with embarrassment for an entire month. For this, Vergil figured he could suffer a weekend for.

The Jeep curved around a long winding road that led to the opening of a surrounding forest. It continued up a steady incline into a deep tree lined road. The canopy of the tall trees shaded the road now and much to Vergil's delight, the radio began to lose reception of the rock station as it reached the limit of its signal from the city.

"Aw, damn," Dante pouted as he clicked off the radio.

By now Vergil was getting a headache from the music and was all too ready to get out of the cramped quarters of the Jeep.

"Okay, just up over here turn right," Dante directed Niki.

Vergil narrowed his vision and observed a small off road path coming up just directly ahead.

Niki slowed down the Jeep and followed Dante's direction, turning off the main road up an unpaved dirt path through the trees.

The change in terrain caused the vehicle to buck and jump slightly. As the Jeep began to bounce on the uneven surface, Beth suddenly lost her balance and was jostled and tossed into Vergil seated next to her. She fell directly into his lap but he quickly grabbed hold of the girl and righted her. She looked up from her precarious position and stared into his eyes blushing.

"S-sorry, about that ...," she shyly apologized.

Vergil nervously cleared his throat and helped steady the girl as she seated herself back up.

"Hey you two, can't you at least wait 'til we get to the cabin?" Dante teased and winked from the front passenger seat watching the incident.

Vergil just shot a steel cold stare at his twin as Beth blushed and looked away from the gawking Dante.

"Exactly how much longer is this journey, brother?" Vergil quickly asked.

"We're practically there dude, like ten more minutes," Dante reassured.

The Jeep had to crawl now as the terrain got even steeper and more unrefined. Some small low tree branches began smacking the sides of the vehicle as it climbed further up the trail.

"Are you sure this is where it's at, Dante?" Niki questioned as they slowly got deeper and deeper into the dark woods.

"Positive. Trust me, babe," Dante reassured his date. "I told you it was out in the sticks," he chuckled.

As the vehicle continued on, Vergil was certain the ten minutes Dante mentioned had passed. He let out a deep sigh and said, "Dante, it's been _more_ than ten minutes. Where exactly is this place?"

"Dude, I swear, just another ten minutes."

"Do you even have a concept of time?" Vergil accused.

"Yeah, another ten minutes."

"Moron." Vergil mumbled.

Dante just looked back and sneered at Vergil from the front seat. "Just ten more minutes, trust me," he added.

Vergil just sighed. _Ten more..._

As the Jeep crawled up the uncharted trail, everyone was suddenly taken by surprise as it's back tire hit an unseen rut and the vehicle tilted harshly to the side coming to an abrupt stop.

"Dante, I think were stuck," Niki said as she tried to give the vehicle gas, but it didn't move.

"Fantastic." Vergil grumbled.

"Nah, punch it babe, it's fine," Dante replied.

Niki tried to get the Jeep unstuck, but to no avail the back tire just spun and the vehicle remained stuck.

"We're stuck." Vergil flatly confirmed.

"Nah, she just needs a push is all," Dante gingerly reassured. "C' mon Verg, give me a hand. We'll get it out," Dante said as he jumped out of the Jeep.

"What?" Vergil said in confusion. But before he could protest Dante grabbed a hold of him from the back and forced him out of the car.

"Alright ... fine!" Vergil groaned and swatted away Dante. "Quit pulling me!"

Dante told Niki that when he yelled_ 'Alright' _she was to give it gas and the two brothers walked behind the stuck vehicle.

"Ok, Verg, lets grab it here and lift," Dante ordered.

Vergil eyed the situation and held a hand out to stop Dante. "No. I don't think that's correct. To get the vehicle properly moving we'd have to lift it here otherwise the tire will just continue to spin," He corrected as he pointed to a different spot on the back to grab onto.

"No way, we gotta just lift it here and it'll come right out," Dante disagreed.

"Really, I'm positive if we lift here it will properly come out," Vergil growled in protest.

"Dude, just do this," Dante went to grab for where he thought it would be appropriate to lift.

Vergil grabbed his wrist and stopped him. "Dante, would you _just_ listen," Vergil now barked. "Lift here and we can be on our way!"

The two brothers argued back and forth about what the proper way was to remove the vehicle from its situation. Finally, Dante thoroughly frustrated with Vergil, gave in and shouted, "_Alright!_ "

Upon hearing Dante's word, Niki throttled the Jeeps gas. As the two brothers stood behind the vehicle, the tire spun rapidly kicking up a shower of dirt and debris all over an unsuspecting Vergil standing right behind the lodged wheel.

He immediately cringed and roared upon being pelted by the flying dirt. Then surprisingly the Jeep regained traction all on its own and the vehicle dislodged itself from the rut pulling forward. Both twins slowly turned and looked dumbfounded at the now freed vehicle waiting their return.

Vergil stood rigid and huffing as he glared at Dante. His entire front was covered in dirt and debris. Baffled by the whole thing, Dante stared dumbstruck at the aftermath on Vergil.

"Dude ... you got a little something there," Dante casually stated as he reached over to Vergil's hair and tried to pull some leaf matter from it.

Vergil smacked away his hand and turned. He angrily brushed the loose soil off himself the best he could.

Dante tried to speak but Vergil quickly spoke over him. "Get-in-the-car," he angrily emphasized every word while brushing himself off.

Dante raised up his hands in surrender, "Okieee," he replied. As he walked away back to the Jeep.

Vergil followed a moment later. As the two brothers got back into the Jeep, the girls gave them praise for dislodging the vehicle.

"Ah, it really was nothin'," Dante smoothly replied.

As Vergil stepped in the back of the Jeep, Beth and Niki took note of his dirty appearance. Even though he had cleaned off the thick layer of soil, his face and clothes were still smudged with dirt.

"Oh no! What happened?" Beth said concerned.

Vergil huffed and didn't respond as he seated himself in the back.

"Oh, he lifted in the wrong spot," Dante spoke up from the front. He knew Vergil would probably attempt to kill him later for that comment, but as usual, Dante couldn't resist.

Vergil was huffing and glared at the back of Dante's head when he was taken by surprise from Beth's hand reaching out and gently plucking a dried leaf from the front of his hair.

He quickly glanced over to her as she pulled back her hand with the debris.

"You still had something in your hair," she nervously stated as his glare softened from her comment.

"Thanks," he flatly stated and she grinned.

Dante then gripped the roll bar handle to the side of him, "Alright! Away we go!" he shouted as Niki giggled and the foursome continued up the uncharted terrain.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **Ok! So what started out to be a total shorty, is now turning into something a little longer! I'm just having way too much fun with this and I hope you all are having fun reading this silliness too. Thank you to all who take the time to drop me a review. Your comments and suggestions are always appreciated and keeps the creative juices flowing!

Now, on with the story. Enjoy!

N.

* * *

Ten _more_ minutes and several unnerving bumps later, the Jeep crawled along the narrow dirt path to the supposed getaway cabin. It was getting dark and the trail never seemed to end. Both girls were quiet but the twins could detect they were getting nervous.

"How many more _ten_ minutes is it going to be now, Dante?" Vergil snidely inquired.

Dante was actually getting worried himself. For sure he got the directions correct. But it did seem a lot longer of a trek than he figured on. "Uh, I'm sure we're practically there," he tried to state calmly.

"You truly don't have a single clue as to where this is do you?" Vergil accused.

Dante turned in his seat to address Vergil. "Look, I swear these are the directions. We should be seeing it any time now."

Just then Niki announced, "Hey, look over there!"

Everyone stared just up ahead of the Jeep. Vergil leaned forward and shoved Dante's head out of the way to get a better look out the windshield.

"Hey!" Dante whined and pushed Vergil's hand off his head.

To everyone's surprise they were quickly coming up to a clearing ahead. As the vehicle crept closer and entered the clearing, there tucked amongst the wooded lot stood a small cabin.

"Whoo hoo! Here she is!" Dante exclaimed. He turned back in his seat and smirked at Vergil. "See I _told_ you just another ten minutes."

Vergil just closed his eyes and sighed. They were finally here and all he wanted now was to get out of the confounded vehicle and get cleaned up. He thought a long shower would be priority.

The girls cheered as the Jeep finally pulled up to the front of the cabin. Everyone hopped out of the vehicle and began unloading their baggage from the trunk.

As the girls were finishing up collecting their things from the trunk, Dante walked up to Vergil who was now staring at the cabin.

"Isn't this great?" Dante happily asked as he put one arm around Vergil and gave him a tight hug. To which Vergil just tensed up and scowled.

Dante then took a few steps forward toward the cabin, "I mean look at it, Verg," Dante said as he held out his arms to the cabin, "it's a real –"

"Dump." Vergil flatly finished.

Dante sighed. "C' mon man, I mean it's a real _love_ shack!"

Vergil rolled his eyes and glanced at Dante with a disturbed look. "You are absolutely absurd. I truly think sometimes, brother, there is something positively wrong with you."

Dante ignored Vergil's comment and wandered toward the cabin as everyone else followed.

The cabin was quite a sight to behold. It's wooden shingled facade had seen better days. Some of the planks were covered in green moss and mold or rotten. Two small windows that flanked either side of the front entrance sat crooked in their frames and the shutters around them were cracked and falling off their hinges. The wooden shingles that covered the roof were coated in more green moss as well and some planks were missing. Vergil thought it looked as if someone sneezed too hard the whole place may collapse entirely.

Dante was the first to step up onto the cracked and crumbled cement slab of the porch. He pulled a key from his shorts pocket and put it in the lock. Everyone stood behind him as he turned the lock to open the door.

"Here we –,"

The door suddenly creaked and fell off its hinges landing with a loud thundering '_smack_' as it hit the cabin floor. The girls jumped and covered their mouths in shock at the incident.

"– go." Dante finished.

Everyone stood silent looking down at the fallen door.

"You've got to be kidding me," Vergil finally spoke.

"Uh, it's just a little dry rot. We can fix this up no problem," Dante reassured the bewildered crowd as he moved forward and picked up the fallen door and leaned it against the cabin wall.

The four slowly edged into the rickety domain. Because it was getting dark there was little light illuminating the inside. The first thing that struck all their senses was the smell of must, mildew and age. Both girls let out an '_ew_' sound as they entered the cabin.

"What is that smell," Niki said.

"Eau de baraque d'amour," Vergil quietly replied glancing around the dim abode.

"What?" Niki asked.

"Hey! I found a light," Dante interrupted. He had found a book of matches and lit a large oil lamp on a small desk along the back wall. As the lamp flame grew, it illuminated the interior to a more comfortable viewing level. A few more oil lamps scattered around the room were then lit as well.

The four now easily looked around the cabin. It seemed as if no one had been there in years. Old sheets covered most of the furniture pieces in effort to keep the dust from settling. To which Dante whisked them off from a couch and chair set surrounding a small stone fireplace. Dust flew from the agitation and caused Vergil to sneeze.

"Huh, it still stands," Vergil rubbed his nose and looked around in wonder.

The cabin had one main room with a seating area and a tiny kitchen off to the back. They found there was a small back bedroom and a small closet of a bathroom next to it as well.

"Hey, where are all the lights?" Niki asked.

They then realized that there was no electricity supplied to the facility.

"C' mon babe, we're roughing it! There's only the oil lamps and the fireplace," Dante stated to which Niki frowned.

"Aw look, it makes it all that more _romantic?" _Dante suavely added and tried to put an arm around his date.

"I've really got to pee," Niki huffed and walked away from Dante's advance, yet again, and headed to the bathroom.

Vergil devilishly smirked at Dante who, in turn, pushed up the thick framed glasses on his nose with his middle finger. To which Vergil just held up his pointer finger and mouthed the words 'one month' and then tugged on his shirt in emphasis. Dante shook his head and waived off his twin.

Suddenly there was a shriek from the bathroom. The three in the living area hurried to the bathroom to see what the problem was.

The three poked their heads into the bathroom to see Niki standing in front of the toilet wide eyed, holding her mouth in fright. When they looked down they saw the bowl was ringed with black mold and filled with dark murky water.

"Ewww!" Beth and Dante scrunched their faces and added.

Niki then reached to flush the dank contents of the toilet. As it flushed, the tank made a horrible groaning sound and the dark water in the bowl began to bubble and rise. The bewildered blonde jumped back in a panic and shoved through the three standing in the doorway.

"This SUCKS!" The blonde yelled and stalked into the living room and grabbed her baggage and headed out the front door.

"Actually, it appears to be filling," Vergil said as he gawked at the disturbing toilet.

"BABE!" Dante said and hurried off after the blonde.

Like a train wreck, Vergil and Beth couldn't help but stand there and stare at the black muck slowly rising in the toilet bowl.

"I think it's going to overflow," Beth nervously stated as she stared wide eyed at the rising murk.

"Wait," Vergil held up a hand in front of Beth and squinted at the toilet. He focused his hearing on a light gurgling sound and just before the black water crested the bowl, it began to swirl and recede. "Jackpot," Vergil added.

"How did you –," Beth questioned looking over at Vergil.

The two watched the toilet suck down the black contents. Once gone, however, the bowl did not refill.

"It seems your companion is quite _unhappy_ with our present situation," Vergil stated to Beth with a sly grin.

Dante had ran out to the Jeep where Niki sat in the driver seat and pouted. He thought she looked as if she were a half step away from tears.

"I want to go home, Dante," Niki whined.

"Aw, c' mon babe, it's not so bad," Dante jovially answered. To which Niki shot him a cold glance to rival one of Vergil's own.

Dante knew he better think fast. If this date ended, it was all over and Vergil will have won. And there was absolutely no way in hell Dante was going to let him win.

* * *

**A/N: ****Eau de baraque d'amour****: **Just FYI, when Niki asks "What's that smell?" in the cabin, Vergil responds "**Eau de baraque d'amour**". It's supposed to be a pun on 'eau de parfum, or eau de toilette' (in reference to a type of fragrance) except 'baraque d'amour' is supposed to mean 'love shack' – an earlier reference to what Dante called the place. (ah well, I thought it was funny! lol) I apologize if my French is incorrect! :-)


	8. Chapter 8

**A****/N**: And... we're back! Boy, it's been sometime since I've been able to update. Sorry to all the readers out there keeping track of this one. I've had a lot going on here, and had to put off writing for a bit. But I hope to get back on track and update a bit more regularly!

And thank you to all who reviewed. Your constructive comments and suggestions are always welcome! Feel free to drop me some words, I'd love to hear from you.

Now, will Dante be able to sway his date to stay at the 'love shack'? Or has Vergil won the bet? Read on and find out!!

Yours Truly,

N.

* * *

After watching the regretful commode disperse it's foul contents, Vergil and Beth stepped back into the living area of the cabin. An awkward silence befell the forced couple and only vague sounds of Dante and Niki's voices could be heard just outside.

Vergil leisurely walked over and stood at the fireplace with his arms folded. He cast his disinterested gaze into the soot covered opening and was silent.

Beth stopped in the center of the disheveled seating area and fiddled with the hem of her shirt, not knowing what to do with her odd date. She knew something was off about this guy but she couldn't figure it out. Sometimes she felt like he was being indifferent with her and other times he just seemed shy about the whole thing. It was rather confusing her.

Although admittedly shy herself, she couldn't stand the static atmosphere that surrounded them so she inhaled and began, "So ..."

Vergil suddenly turned to look at her. He stared at her pointedly causing Beth to actually take a step back from where she stood. No doubt he had an intense stare, but he didn't move or change expression and waited for her to continue her sentence.

Beth swallowed a small lump in her throat then added, " ... what's up?"

To which Vergil candidly replied, "The ceiling, but I'm not certain for how long."

Beth was dumbstruck for a moment at his dry response, then she nervously spit out a chuckle.

Vergil raised an eyebrow at the response he got from her. He wasn't trying to be funny and it surprised him she found his statement to be amusing. So he decided to correct his response by flatly adding, "Well, it _is_ true," as he looked up and scanned the dilapidated roof above them.

Beth nervously grinned then said, "Riiight, well, maybe I should go check on Niki, she seemed pretty upset."

"Dante will handle it, don't worry," Vergil quickly replied as he suddenly swooped up beside her and turned, blocking her path to the door outside. He'd be damned if any outsider were to help keep Dante's tart de jour here when her leaving meant Vergil won the bet. He'd make sure Dante had to work for every bit of it if _he_ wanted to win. And that fair haired debutante surely wouldn't make it easy. _Anytime now._

Beth shuffled back from Vergil who stood so close to her now their arms brushed against each other. Towering over her, she stared up at him taken aback by his sudden motion. She hadn't even heard him move.

"Shall we continue to inspect our amenities?" he offered as to keep the girl in the cabin.

Beth stared at him as she nodded her head in agreement. "Ok," she finally added.

"Very well, perhaps we should tidy up the living area a bit," Vergil suggested and walked over to the small couch and picked up one of the discarded dust covers Dante had tossed off.

Beth watched him walk away from where they stood then finally shook off her puzzlement and followed along to help.

--

"Hey babe, why the face?" Dante casually asked as he stood by the door of the vehicle. He knew he need to keep his cool and not act like anything was wrong.

"Why the _face_?" Niki shot back at him. "Dante, this place is a gross dump! It's not at all like you said it would be," she added then continued to pout.

Dante stared at her big green eyes which looked like they were watering up and would spring a leak any second. _Think fast, Dante. _If he couldn't coax this chick into staying, it was surely all over and Vergil will have won the bet. There was no way that Dante would give him the satisfaction, let alone he could never live down the fact that he couldn't ... _score_. So Dante took a deep breath as he casually crossed his arms and leaned onto the open window of the door.

"Aw, come on now, babe, it isn't so bad," Dante started. To which Niki looked at him flustered and opened her mouth ready to protest his comment. But before a sound could escape her mouth, Dante held up a finger to her lips and _'sshed'_ her. She crossed her wide eyes as she looked down at his finger in surprise. "I know. I know. I mean, sure it's a bit more, uh, _rustic_ than what I was told but hey, we're camping right?"

Niki tried to respond, "But –,"

Dante quickly interrupted her. "_And_ ... you like scary movies right?" He added with a sly grin.

"Well, yeah," Niki now answered him questioningly.

"So doesn't it kinda remind you of a set from one of those movies?" Dante said with a grin.

Niki thought a moment then a light grin fell on her face. "Yeah, I guess it does."

"See, think of it like we're in our _own_ horror movie!" Dante exuberantly replied.

He then saw the sparkle return to the blonde's eyes. She looked down at her lap as she thought about Dante's comments, her grin getting wider._ Almost there, just a little more. _Niki then looked up at him with a grin and asked, "Can we tell scary stories?"

Dante then reached in the Jeep and gently took her hand. He began to caress and massage her fingers as he continued his plea bargain. "Yeah, of course we can tell scary stories! It wouldn't be a horror movie with out 'em, right?" he replied with a grin. _C' mon, almost there._

Niki then looked back at the rickety cabin then softly pulled her hand away from his touch. "But, Dante, it's so dirty and ... busted," she woefully added as her grin started to fade.

_Dammit_. Dante pulled his hand away and rested back on the door frame as he put his chin down on his folded arms. It was now or never. Time to pull out the big guns. He tilted his head as the large black frame glasses slid down his nose revealing those haunting, crystal blue orbs of his. He stared up at her with as intense of puppy dog eyes he could muster.

"But baby," he started softly and suavely, "it's not about the package but the contents inside." Dante slowly leaned in to the Jeep, eyes still fixed on the blonde and continued his ultimate persuasion. "It's really all about me and you all snuggled up and cozy inside our own little horror shack, am I right?" He rolled off his tongue in the most seductive voice he could. At this point, Dante was even impressing himself. _Yeah._

This was it. Dante had the blonde transfixed with those eyes that peeked over the rim of the ridiculous glasses. Niki stared doe eyed deep into the two pools of soft blue, lost in a hypnotic gaze. He had the look, now it was all about ... _the touch_. Dante then reached out and softly pushed back a strand of her hair from the side of her face then brought his fingers down and caressed the side of her cheek. He could feel her quiver at his touch. _That's it._

"Oh, Dante," the mesmerized blonde sighed.

_Jackpot_. Dante then flashed her an alluring smirk and softly said, "C' mon babe, let's get back inside."

Niki grinned wide, giggling as Dante pushed his glasses up on his nose and stepped aside for her to exit the Jeep. As she took the lead heading back to the cabin, he silently exhaled heavily and rolled his eyes as his legs wobbled from the stress. _Sweet mother, that was close. _He had pulled out all the tricks – all the cards – and thankfully it worked. Luckily Dante had half a mind to remember that in one of their conversations over drinks at the bar where they met, Niki had mentioned she was a horror movie fanatic. So much so, it was like she had a strange fetish about it. To look at her cheerleader exterior who would have thought sunshine had a dark side? And admittedly, in a twisted sort of way, it turned Dane on. So he was rather proud at his creative use of working that bit of information into the situation. He then took a leap in his stride and air high-fived his accomplishment. Niki suddenly turned to him to smile and Dante quickly dropped his hand behind his head in a mock scratch and smiled back._ Suck on that, Vergil._


	9. Chapter 9

Vergil dropped the cushion he had been fluffing as he stared dumbstruck at Niki prancing back into the cabin.

"Hey y'all, what's going on?" the blonde announced with a toothy smile.

Vergil stood rigid and stared at what he was _certain_ he wouldn't be seeing again as Beth told Niki they were trying to clean the place up before it got too dark.

Dante trodded in behind Niki and took note of his brother's speechless expression as Vergil switched his gaze over to Dante who stood in the doorway. Dante then cocked his upper lip into the most obnoxious taunting grin he could at his brother and nodded his head triumphantly.

Vergil's eyes went dark as he squinted and sneered back at his fortunate sibling. He then stalked up to Dante and stopped right in front of his nose. "How?" he growled through gritted teeth.

Dante just continued to smirk as he confidently replied, "Skills, bro." He then reached up to playfully adjust Vergil's shirt collar.

Vergil gnashed his teeth and growled as he slapped away Dante's hands from his collar. He threw up an angry pointer finger between them then through his gritted teeth simply said, "Just ... wait."

All the while the girls were oblivious to the boys exchange as Niki had joined Beth in helping tidy things up. Suddenly the blonde interrupted with, "Hey Dante, so you guys are gonna fix the toilet and the door, right?" She spoke with a weary look in her eyes.

Both brothers stopped their exchanges and turned their attention to Niki. Dante knew that fixing the toilet and the door were inevitable if he planned on keeping her there. So quickly Dante responded, "Sure babe, no prob. I got the door. Verg, go take care of the can."

"What?!" Vergil rounded and stared at Dante wide eyed.

To which Dante just ignored him and started walking to a large cabinet in the back of the room. "Let's see if there are any tools in here," he added as he strolled over to the storage cabinet.

"Dante, I am NOT touching that foul commode," Vergil flatly stated.

"Suit yourself, dude," Dante replied as he rummaged through the cabinet. "It's either that or your ass has a date with a leaf out in the woods." Dante knew that would inspire Vergil. He knew how much of a priss his brother was and wouldn't stoop to doing number one let alone number two out in a patch of weeds somewhere.

Vergil stood silent staring at the back of Dante fumbling in the cabinet, then began to roll up his sleeves. "You don't happen to see a wrench in there, do you?" he sulked.

Not long had passed and the group had managed to get the cabin in some relative order. The girls dusted and cleaned while Dante and Vergil tended to the repairs. Somehow Dante had managed to reattach the fatigued front door to its frame. It hung a bit askew and closed only if you lifted up on it, leaving a sizable gap along the back hinge side. But never the less it was reattached and could lock, much to Niki's delight.

After some time between sounds of banging and one sided arguing coming from the bathroom, Vergil had finally gotten the toilet to work. Dante walked in just as Vergil finished cursing the abomination for the final time.

"Dude, what are you doing in here? Negotiating it to work?" Dante teased.

"Save your trite comments," Vergil sourly responded, "I fixed it." He proudly stated as he wiped his hands with an old rag.

Dante pushed the lever to flush it, and with a bubbling in the bowl the toilet managed to flush and fill on it's own. Dante grinned and slapped Vergil on the shoulder. "Who would have thought you were handy?"

Vergil growled and threw the old rag at Dante's face. Just as he caught it, he poked his head out of the room and announced, "Hey ladies, Verg fixed the shitter!"

The girls were finishing up their cleaning as they giggled and cheered at Dante's announcement.

"You are so uncouth," Vergil rolled his eyes.

"Thanks, bro," Dante smiled then exited the room causing Vergil to groan and pinch the bridge of his nose.

By now it was dark and the cabin was dimly lit by the few oil lamps the group had discovered upon first entering. It was getting cool out with the night approaching, and the girls had suggested they start a fire. So Dante and Vergil grabbed armfuls of wood that was stacked just outside on the far edge of the porch. With a little coaxing the wood ignited and the fireplace was finally aglow. Niki and Beth sat themselves on the short couch while Vergil sat back in the single armchair. Dante grabbed his large duffel bag and brought it over to the seated group.

"Alright! Now this is camping!" Dante exclaimed.

The girls giggled, but Vergil just sat silent ebbed back in the chair as the group watched Dante open and dig in his over sized bag. He chuckled as he pulled out two six-pack cases of beer and set them on the small coffee table of the living room.

"Who's hungry?" Dante asked.

"Dante, I don't consider beer in the four major food groups," Vergil said flatly.

"Hold your panties, bro, there's more," Dante scoffed at his brother's comment. To which he started pulling a myriad of bagged foods and snacks from what seemed to be his bottomless bag. On the table he threw bags of beef jerky, marshmallows, various bags of chips, pretzels and dried snack items. When Dante pulled out one bag in particular of a snack, his eyes went wide and he let out an _'ooh'_ like a kid in a candy shop.

"These are my favorite," he excitedly stated and tossed the bag to Vergil. "You'll like these."

Vergil inquisitively eyed the snack bag.

"But don't eat too many dude, they'll grease your ass if you're not careful," Dante added.

Vergil quickly tossed the bag back to Dante.

The last thing Dante pulled from his bag was a large glass bottle filled with an amber liquid. "Ah, and this is daddy's," Dante cooed as he held the bottle to his cheek.

After Dante had emptied the entire contents of his bag, the coffee table was over flowing with sacks and packages of convenient foods.

As the girls went to grab for various snacks, Vergil said, "Brother, what store _did_ you rob to accumulate all of this?"

"Relax, I told you I had drinks and eats covered," Dante casually stated.

"Yes, and a fine assortment of wrapped cuisine it is," Vergil sarcastically added.

Dante plunked down on the floor next to the table. "Look dude, if you don't like it then don't eat it."

"Fine, I'll manage," Vergil flatly responded and folded his arms.

"Vergil, do you like marshmallows?" Beth suddenly spoke up.

Slightly surprised at her question to him, Vergil stuttered his response, "Uh, well, I ...,"

"Are you kidding? Vergil doesn't like anything sweet," Dante butted in to which Vergil sneered.

"Haven't you ever toasted marshmallows?" Beth added.

Shyly Vergil looked down at his lap. "No, I can't say that I have."

"Oh, you have to try one then! It's great," Beth grinned and got up with the bag of marshmallows.

"Er, well ..., " Vergil awkwardly started.

"Oh, come on Verg, you're camping. You got to have at least one marshmallow," Dante spoke up again.

Beth walked over to the small kitchenette in the back and grabbed some skewers they had found earlier in their cleaning. She then went to the fireplace and poked a marshmallow onto the end and hovered it in the flames. The soft treat began to bubble and crisp. When it was just right she pulled it out and blew the flame off.

"Here, try it," she smiled as she knelt down next to him and handed the toasted marshmallow to Vergil.

He held it to his nose and sniffed, like an animal inspecting its food. Then gingerly, he plucked the treat from the skewer. Everyone watched him intently and curious as he was so odd in his manners. Vergil eyed it a moment then held it to his mouth and took a small nibble from one charred corner.

"Oh come on dude, just eat it!" Dante barked.

Vergil agitated by his brother's picking then decided to shove the entire thing into his mouth. He chewed and rolled it around in his palette as he furrowed his eyebrows. Everyone started giggling at his funny reaction.

"_Mits_ not bad," Vergil said with a sticky tongue.

"Oh, you got a little something right here," Beth said to him as she pointed to her upper lip in regards to where Vergil had some leftover marshmallow goo.

He made to wipe it away but it just smeared.

Beth and the rest giggled which just made Vergil get agitated and frown. He anxiously wiped again but it just smeared more across his upper lip. To which the crowd giggled louder. Vergil actually flushed a bit pink from being embarrassed as the center of attention. Suddenly, Beth seeing that he was uncomfortable, bent toward him.

"Here, let me," She softly said as she reached her hand out to him.

Vergil shot her a look of surprise but didn't flinch as she slowly took her finger and gently wiped the smeared mallow from his upper lip. "There," she shyly smiled as she managed to wipe it clean.

"Thanks," Vergil replied flatly and looked away.

"Aw, poor Verg," Dante started, "it's the little things that are a challenge, aren't they?"

Vergil shot him a vicious stare as Dante then quickly made a kissing face at him. Vergil then opened his mouth like he was about to give Dante what for, when Niki interrupted.

"Hey! So let's all tell scary stories now!" the blonde blurted out.

"Great idea babe," Dante replied. He then got up and went around the room and dimmed the oil lanterns. "Gotta set the right mood," he chuckled. To which the girls _'oohed'_ and giggled.

"Who wants to go first?" Niki cheerfully asked.

"Ooh! Ooh, me!" Dante excitedly said as he returned to his place on the floor.

Vergil sighed as he crossed his leg at the ankle and leaned back in the chair folding his arms.

Dante then cracked open his bottle of amber spirits and took a good swig. He then fished around in the bottomless bag tossed on the floor beside him and pulled out a flashlight. He turned it on and placed it just under his chin to cast an eerie glow up his face. As the girls giggled and grabbed snacks, they settled in close to each other on the couch.

"Now boys and girls," Dante started in a sinister voice,"wanna here something really scary? Muwahahaha!"


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: **Just a quick 'thank you' to everyone who posted me their kind reviews! I totally appreciate it and I'm glad you all are having a good time with this story. I'm certainly having fun writing it!

Dante and Vergil are just a ton of fun in this one. I admit they might be a bit ridiculous and OOC, especially Dante, but it's intended to be rather silly. I hope I'm not making Dante too much of a dolt. I love Dante dearly, don't get me wrong. But just go with it, LOL, I think it works well for this story if he's a bit 'thick'. LOL

Anyway, enough chit-chat ... so on with the show!

Yours Truly,

N.

* * *

Dante told his scary story, animating every move in his _frightful_ tale. "Then the demon lunged and I – _I mean_ – the hero was all like, yeah, whatever. Is that all you got? And he swung his sword like this – ," Dante said enthusiastically animating the motion. "Tossing the demon into the air, he then pulled out his totally sweet dual custom hand guns and juggled the demon in the air with rapid fire style until it burst into ashes and disappeared," he proudly stated.

The group stared at him with blank disinterested faces.

"Uh, Dante –," Niki flatly spoke up.

"Wait! Here's the best part," Dante held up a finger halting Niki's comment. "Then I –_ I mean_ –the bad ass demon hunter ... ," he corrected himself.

Vergil just sat back in the chair with his ankle crossed over his knee. He lazily leaned on the arm of the chair, resting his head in his hand, finger against his temple and another across his lip as he managed to tolerate Dante weaving his _fantastic_ narrative.

" ... he finished off the horde of demons, dropping some serious stylish moves on their asses all gunslinger berserk style," Dante finished as he held up his arms and pretend fired guns with his fingers.

Niki wasn't amused at all. Not to mention she was finding it pretty difficult to take him seriously, dressed in the Poindexter get up he was in. "Dante," Niki spoke up again, "This story isn't scary at all."

"Agreed," Vergil blandly added.

"Aw, come on! That group of demi-demons was pretty tough," Dante frowned.

"_Really_ Dante?" Niki added, "That was pretty lame," she corrected and folded her arms.

Vergil shifted in his seat dully adding, "Yes, truly."

"_What?_" Dante whined.

"I believe it would have been more to the _'hero's'_ advantage –," Vergil started as he made quotations with his fingers, "– if he had utilized his sword in the battle rather than relying on his pistols, making for a more efficient and distinguished kill," he observedly stated.

"Yeah, well ... were _you_ there?" Dante questioningly eyed him.

"No, but –,"

"Then crimp it, bro. The _hero_ was wicked awesome and the guns did just as good of a job and looked a hell of a lot cooler," Dante boldly stated and shoved the black framed glasses up his nose.

Disinterested in the whole topic Niki questioned, "Alright guys, is it _possible_ to tell an actual scary story?" She then took a handful of cheesy snack cracker bites she'd been sharing with Beth and shoved them in her mouth and munched loudly.

"Yeah, I think it's Verg's turn!" Dante responded excitedly and quickly turned to look at his brother.

"_What?_" Vergil squawked as he sat up in the chair. "I'm _not_ going to tell a scary story," he sourly objected.

"Aw, c 'mon Verg, don't be the party pooper," Dante teased.

"Yeah, Vergil, why don't _you_ tell us a story," Niki chimed in and Beth nodded her head eagerly at him while munching on her snack.

Vergil looked back and forth at the group then closed his eyes and scowled. "Fine," he stated with a huff. He then took a deep breath, and in one shot blurted out, "A group of stupid teenagers went into an abandoned house. They all stupidly split up making it easy for the murderer to kill them off one by one. In the end they all died and everyone was satisfied, including this narrator," he dryly stated. "The end."

The girls giggled at Vergil's attempt at sarcasm as Dante frowned and sighed, "Dude, that's stupid."

"_Yes_, it was wasn't it?" Vergil agreed, side glancing at his brother.

"C 'mon Verg, tell a _real_ scary story," Dante taunted. "Here!" he added as he tossed the flashlight he was holding for 'mood effect' at Vergil.

Vergil caught it and eyed it questioningly.

"Dude, do the flashlight thingy! C 'mon, do it," Dante demanded and mocked holding it under his own chin.

Vergil scowled and sighed as he tossed the light back to Dante. "I am _not_ going to do the 'flashlight thingy'," he sourly stated.

Dante caught it saying, "Party pooper," under his breath then turned on the light and held it under his own chin making a rather silly face at his brother.

The group watched as Vergil looked down at his lap and thought a moment. Then slowly, he lifted his head. He emerged with a devilish grin spread on his face and stared out at the group from under his brow. "Alright," he started slowly. "I'll tell you a _real_ scary story," he said in a sly and sinister tone with a slight curl to his upper lip.

Dante smacked his hands together. "Alright, here we go!" he said excitedly.

The girls shifted on the couch, turning their attention to Vergil, and took more handfuls of snacks, eagerly ready for what he was about to tell.

Vergil slightly shifted in the chair and leaned forward. The glow of the fire illuminated him from behind, outlining him in a sort of eerie red aura. Then looking up from under his furrowed brow, he began.

"You did all know that these woods are cursed, _didn't you_?" he deviously stated as his eyes slowly panned around the room at the captive audience.

"Wait, _what?_" Dante questioned as Vergil gave him a quick glance.

"Oh yes, you didn't know brother?" Vergil's upper lip curled into a sneer, "These woods hold a dark curse placed on them."

"No way! Dante, you didn't know about this?" Niki questioned apprehensively to which Dante shook his head in disbelief.

Vergil took a deep breath then began his tale. "You see, it's been said that many years ago lived a young beautiful maiden in these very woods. She arrived suddenly one day and no one knows where she came from. She lived alone and kept to herself, away from the other townsfolk. Unfortunately, her oddly mismatched eyes fired up talk and rumors spread that this young beauty was in reality a terrible demon in disguise. The townsfolk began to believe that by day she took the form of the lovely lass, but by nightfall changed into a horrible and fierce demon."

The girls mindlessly shoveled snacks in their mouths while staring fixedly at Vergil as he continued his story.

"The townsfolk became suspicious, you see, as strange things started to happen one night after the girl had arrived. Their live stock began to go missing, only to turn up days later mutilated ... the flesh ripped from the bones and limbs missing."

Dante's eyes grew wide as Vergil unfolded his terrible tale. He quickly stood up from where he had been planted on the floor and dug a gingham wedgie out of his backside. He grabbed his bottle of amber spirits and scurried over to where the girls sat on the small couch. He scooted in and plunked down, tightly wedging himself in between them. The girls shifted to make room, but Dante put his arms around them and pulled them in close to him.

"C 'mon ladies, don't be shy," he stated, "get friendly and make a Dante sandwich. This is gettin' good!"

The girls sighed and squirmed in his embrace. Beth giggled and pushed him off, playfully slugging him in the arm.

Vergil then continued the tale as the three on the couch sat close to each other intent on every word coming out of his mouth.

"Finally the townspeople had had enough when one night two of the local children went missing. They searched and searched but couldn't find the missing children. Three days later a local farmer tending to his field, came across the very bodies of the two missing younglings. Their bodies, much like that of the ravaged livestock, were strewn around the ground like pieces of tattered rag dolls."

Niki gulped at those words then ripped Dante's bottle of spirits from his clutches and took a long hard swig. As she shoved it back at him, Dante in turn did the same chugging down the amber liquid.

Vergil continued, "Devastated and convinced that the mysterious reclusive maiden was behind all of this, the townspeople organized a slaying party one night to strike down the vile creature in disguise. They made their way to her domicile secluded deep in these very woods, and dragged her out. They beat and maimed her, then bound her tightly to an old tree." Vergil ended his sentence with a twisted pleasurable grin on his face as he stared over his nose at the enticed crowd.

The trio on the couch stared dumbfounded and unblinking as Vergil spoke, mouths hung open in awe. Niki then grabbed the bottle of alcohol from Dante ... again and took another hard gulp.

"The girl hung her head low in silence as the hunting party then asked, what they thought to be the demon, if it had anything to say for it's vehement behavior before they prepared to send it back to hell. When suddenly the girl began to laugh. She raised her head and eyed them crookedly with her unmatched eyes."

Dante and the girls were leaning intently forward, hanging on Vergil's every word. They sat so far on the edge of the seat, they might as well have hit the floor.

Vergil continued, "The girl spat at them, calling them fools. She confessed that she was a demon hunter and had been tracking the creature that had moved into these woods. She cursed them saying that if they killed her, they would never be rid of the beast and it shall remain in these woods for all times. Unfortunately for her, the townsfolk didn't believe a word she said."

Vergil paused briefly, keeping his attentive audience in suspense. Then a devious grimace spread across his face as he continued, "And so they lit the innocent human girl ablaze and burned her alive. The townsfolk had been foolishly wrong and the next night the demon came for them all, destroying the whole town. Not one soul survived. It's said the demon still wanders these woods, preying on the innocent and unknowing who carelessly enter here."

Vergil grinned and was quite pleased with himself as he finished his tale of horror. The room was silent as the rest in the group just stared at him wide eyed in disbelief.

Finally Dante spoke up, "Are you serious, bro? I mean, is that for real?" he nervously questioned.

Vergil smirked when suddenly a rather loud crashing noise came from somewhere outside and took everyone by surprise. Vergil winced and shuddered at the girls heart stopping screams as they latched onto Dante. Beth grabbed and squeezed Dante's arm and Niki jumped, putting Dante in a rather tight headlock causing him to gag and choke in the process.

"What the hell was that?!" Dante exclaimed pulling Niki's arms from his face.

"I'm not sure," Vergil raised a brow in question. He narrowed his eyes and panned around the room to gauge where the noise had come from. Then they heard it again. This time it was a loud '_clunking_' sound that came from somewhere around the backside of the cabin. The girls screamed again and gripped on tight to Dante.

"Relax ladies, Dante's here," he said with a cocky smirk. Vergil moaned heavily and rolled his eyes.

"Dante! What if it's the demon?" Niki fretted, her big green eyes staring at him wide with terror.

"Then he picked the wrong cabin to jack with!" he confidently stated to the group. Dante then turned to Niki and thoughtfully gazed at her with his sincere blue eyes. "It's alright, babe, we'll check it out," Dante dreamily cooed to the blonde.

"Oh Dante," Niki sighed and tenderly caressed the side of his cheek with her hand. "Be careful," she worriedly added.

"Sure thing, babe," he confidently replied. "C 'mon Verg, let's check it out," Dante then ordered, grabbing Vergil by the arm.

"_Alright!_ I'm up," Vergil growled shrugging off Dante's grip.

They heard the noise again, loudly rattling against the side of the cabin. The girls whimpered fearfully, now clinging to each other as the boys got up and headed for the front door.

Dante grabbed an old broom the girls had been using to clean up with earlier and handed Vergil the flashlight. He then clicked the latch on the front door and salute-waved to the weary girls.

"Don't worry ladies, we'll take care of it!" Dante smirked. "C 'mon bro, lets rock!"

Vergil just sighed at Dante as he opened the door to the terror that lurked on the other side.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** To everyone who guessed that Vergil was referring to Lady in his scary story in the last chapter, you get a gold star! And yes, Dante is a dolt for not catching that! LOL And again, thanks for all the kind reviews!

Now, what 'terror' will the brothers find outside the cabin? Read on and find out!

N.

* * *

The brothers stepped cautiously outside and shut the door behind them. Dante turned to Vergil with a disturbed look on his face and in a low voice inquired, "Dude, that story wasn't _real_, right?"

"Of course it's not _real_, you idiot," Vergil confessed, "isn't that what one is supposed to do at these gatherings is make up a twisted tale of the macabre to scare the other attendees?" he quietly hissed out.

"_Riiight!_ See, I totally knew you were yanking our cranks," Dante smugly grinned and playfully slapped Vergil on the shoulder to which Vergil just eyed him disbelievingly.

Suddenly they heard the noises again. It was louder this time now they were outside, as it rumbled and rustled somewhere along the backside of the cabin.

Dante nodded his head to where the sounds were coming from as Vergil simply nodded back to acknowledge him. "Well, if it's not a demon, let's go find out what it is then," Dante whispered as he tossed up then twirled the broom, readying his weapon of choice.

Vergil clicked on the flashlight illuminating a small round patch of the ground ahead of where the brothers crept. They heard more rustling sounds as they approached closer to the backside of the old structure. Dante gripped the handle of the broom tight and readied it in a swinging position as they slowly rounded the side to the back. As the brothers turned the corner, they came to stand in front of a large pile of old wood haphazardly stacked against the back of the cabin wall.

They stood there a moment, then looked at each other as they heard light scratching sounds coming from inside the mound of old wood. Vergil narrowed his eyes and shined the flashlight in between the askew logs. As he came to a larger opening in the pile, he paused and tapped Dante on the shoulder.

"Ah, here's the culprit," Vergil softly whispered to his brother and pointed toward the opening.

Dante bent forward and looked down into the opening of the pile. Inside was a small furry animal, hypnotized by the glare from the flashlight Vergil had locked on it.

"Aw, hey little fella," Dante cooed to the tiny frozen creature. "What are you doin' in there?" he gently added.

"Dante, I think it's a juvenile," Vergil informed as he inquisitively inspected the animal.

Dante then bent in closer to the opening of the pile of wood. "Hey little buddy, are you lost lookin' for your mommy?" he muttered as the little fury animal shuddered and sniffed nervously at Dante peering down at it.

"Dante, I doubt it's misplaced its parent. Usually they are close by ... somewhere," Vergil stated as he narrowed his eyes and began scanning around for a possible adult companion to the small animal. "I suggest we leave the young woodland creature be, I don't think we want to disturb –"

"AW! Check him out, Verg," Dante loudly interrupted Vergil's advice, "He's kinda cute, isn't he?" Dante added as his grip on the broom went slack and he poked his hand in the opening and wiggled his finger at the nervous animal.

"Dante, you really shouldn't –," Vergil tried to scold but it was too late. Suddenly out of the opening emerged a growling and hissing larger version of the same kind of animal.

Dante rapidly retracted his hand from the opening as both brothers jumped back from the imposing animal. Vergil hurriedly stepped backwards to where they had come from as Dante hastily backed up in the opposite direction. As he did, the larger animal quickly scurried out of the pile of wood and lunged toward Dante.

Vergil watched dumbstruck as Dante and the creature ran round and round in a somewhat half-assed figure eight pattern. The animal hissed and spat, growling as it scurried around chasing Dante. "Vergil ... do _something!_" Dante yelled as he unsuccessfully tried to swat at the opposing creature to no avail with his broom, as it kept on his heels. Vergil then furrowed his brow as he had an idea cross his mind. He turned on his heel and hurried back to the front of the cabin.

As Vergil threw open the front door, the girls screamed and hugged on to each other at the site of _only_ his return. He froze for a second, realizing what their reaction was about, then held up his hand and calmly reassured, "No, no ... Don't fret, it's not what you think."

The girls relaxed a bit and confusedly watched as Vergil approached the mound of snacks on the coffee table. He made to grab for the bag of marshmallows, but quickly changed his mind and opted for the bag of Dante's _'ass greasing delights'. _So he snatched up the snack bag and told the girls they'd _both_ be right back momentarily.

Vergil quickly returned to find Dante perched on a large old tree stump out back. He swatted at the vicious creature with his broom, jumping every time the animal made to nip at his feet. "Vergil ... _the hell!_ Where'd you go?" Dante whined as he took another swing at the attacking critter.

Vergil didn't answer and just tore open the bag of savory greasy bites and began tossing them at the animal. It paused from its torment on Dante and sniffed the air as it found the snacks laying near by. It lumbered over to where Vergil had thrown the pieces and began munching readily on them. Vergil tossed more of the snack out in a trail, leading the animal away from where Dante precariously hovered on the stump.

When the creature was far enough away from Dante, he leapt down and hurried over to where Vergil stood. As Dante approached, he commended his brother for his inventive save. "Dude, you rock! That was _genius_," Dante grinned. Then he looked down at the bag Vergil was holding and frowned. "Aw, man! Did you _have_ to use those?" Dante scolded.

"Would you rather I'd left you out here to your own demise with the beast?" Vergil scowled as he then tossed the entire bag over to the now complacent animal. Dante only sighed as the two brothers wandered back inside the cabin.

As the boys returned, the girls bolted up from the couch wide eyed, covering their hands over their mouths. They waited eagerly for a report.

"Hey babes, everything's cool," Dante calmly relayed with a smug grin.

The girls dropped their hands from their mouths, revealing smiles of joy. They both hurried over to their dates. "Dante, what happened?" Niki seriously inquired as she rested her hands on his chest and worriedly gazed up into his eyes.

Dante drank up Niki's attention so he decided to play up his story. "Oh, it was ... _terrible_," he woefully said to which Vergil side glanced at him annoyed. "There was this huge ... hairy ... wilda-beast ... animal-thingy," Dante exclaimed with his best creative words as Niki ate up his _slightly_ altered tale. "But, the savage creature was no match for _Yours Truly_," he declared cocking a grin and thumbing at himself.

"Yes, the little fury critter had you in it's clutches," Vergil sourly spoke up, glaring at his brother.

Dante eyed him and growled for stepping on his thunder. But Niki paid Vergil no mind as her eyes glazed over and she blushed.

"Oh Dante, you're so brave! I'm glad you're alright," she cooed as she straightened the mock glasses that were sitting crooked on his nose. Then she attentively picked and fussed at his hair that had gotten frazzled from the tussle.

"I did it all to make sure you're safe, babe," Dante spread it thick as he lightly caressed her cheek with his hand.

Vergil heavily groaned at the couples drippy exchange. Dante looked over at the odd pair out and noticed Beth shyly looking down at her feet as she stood in front of his brother. _This can't go on like this ... somethin's got to happen! _Dante then grinned as he got an idea.

"Yeah, and Vergil over here is the _real_ hero," Dante suddenly spoke up.

"What?" Vergil wrinkled his brow at his brother's statement.

"Um, he actually _finished_ off the beast. Didn't you Verg?" Dante added eyeing Vergil to play along.

"Uh, I ... suppose?" Vergil confusedly agreed.

"He totally wanted to make sure _you'd_ be safe ... Beth," Dante blatantly addressed the timid girl.

"I –, I did?" Vergil questioningly looked at Dante who just jabbed him back with his elbow.

Dante watched as this got Beth to look up at his brother. Her eyes sparkled at him and she cracked a faint smile on her face.

"Oh, well, um –, " the shy girl started as she suddenly tensed up as Vergil stared down at her with his usual intense glare. "Good job," Beth nervously blurted out and awkwardly tapped him on the shoulder in approval. Vergil just casually glanced over to where her hand had touched him and raised a brow.

Niki had buried her face in Dante's chest by this point, cooing into him. It tickled and almost made him chuckle as he pulled her back off of him. The couples made their way back to the seating area and settled in from the turn of events.

Dante then went to reach for his bottle of spirits, thinking he deserved a long hard drink after that incident but dropped his jaw when he picked up an empty bottle. He sadly eyed the clear vacant glass blurting out, "Hey ... where's all _the juice?_" as he tilted the bottle around hoping it magically still contained some of its previous contents.

"_What?!_" Niki fired out as Dante looked over at her. "I got nervous, okay?" she confessed as she fidgeted uncomfortably with being called out.

Then Dante squinted at her face and noted how red her cheeks and tip of her nose appeared in the dull light of the cabin. "Huh," he remarked at taking note of her appearance then looked back at the once _half-full_ bottle. Dante shrugged and set the bottle down and instead opted for cracking open one of the beers he had brought.

The group decided to resume their earlier activity of telling scary stories and Beth offered up to continue next. As she told her story, Dante and Vergil listened attentively to her tale, but Niki slowly leaned her head back against Dante's shoulder as her eyelids became heavy. As Beth finished up her story, there was a sudden loud snore that turned everyone's attention to the one who made it. Niki had passed out and settled herself in the crook between Dante's arm and torso. Her head arched back and mouth agape, she began to snore heartily. Dante took his pointer finger and gently poked at the intoxicated blonde's flushed cheek but she didn't react.

"Well, one down," Dante sighed knowing that no action was going to occur in his bed tonight.

"I guess it's getting late," Beth then said as she got up and stretched. "I'm going to get ready for bed, excuse me," she added as she eyed Vergil and grinned making her way to the bathroom.

Vergil caught her interested glance and he continued to watch Beth as she grabbed her bag and headed to the tiny bathroom and shut the door. Vergil then panned his gaze over to Dante seated on the couch with the comatose blonde now slouched down and practically sprawled out over his lap. With his thumb and forefinger, Dante was candidly lifting up the top front of Niki's shirt and trying to get a look down in it.

"_Dante!_" Vergil growled between his clenched teeth.

"What!" Dante innocently replied, quickly looking up at Vergil and dropping the girl's shirt.

"What _are_ you doing?" Vergil scolded.

"I'm just gettin' a look at the goods, bro," Dante stated matter-of-factly.

"You _do_ realize that if you fornicate with the inebriated female it doesn't constitute as_ 'getting laid' _and is rather crude, I might add," Vergil flatly stated and folded his arms.

"Relax bro, I'm not gonna do anything. I have _some_ standards," Dante reassured him and went back to trying to peek under the oblivious girl's shirt.

"_Dante!_" Vergil scolded him again.

Just then, the bathroom door unlatched and Dante quickly put Niki's shirt back down as Beth emerged ready for bed. She had left on her shirt from the day, but changed into a pair of black, straight-leg sweat pants.

"Well, I guess it's _that_ time," Dante yawned out. He then scooped up the lifeless blonde and stood from the couch. As he heaved her limp body up, she moaned incoherently and lightly smacked him in the face with a flailing hand. Dante winced as the other two just watched the comedy before them.

"That's Karma for you," Vergil enlightened.

"I call the bed," Dante quickly stated as he walked off to the back room. "There's an air mattress in the cabinet for you two love birds. Don't make too much noise now," Dante added with a wink.

"_Dante_," Vergil warned.

"I know, I know ... if the mattress is squeakin' don't come peekin'," Dante teased.

"_Dante!_ GOODNIGHT!" Vergil growled as Beth stifled a chuckle.

Dante smirked at his own taunting as he maneuvered he and the limp blonde into the back bedroom and shut the door with his foot.

Beth blushed and sheepishly looked down grinning, as Vergil tensed up and scowled. He then stalked over to the back cabinet and removed the air mattress that Dante had mentioned. It was a dark, drab olive green and made of a heavy vinyl and canvas material. It smelled as musty and old as the cabin itself, and he wondered if it would even hold air. Luckily it came supplied with a battery pump, and to Vergil's surprise, it actually worked. He threw the mattress down behind the couch on the vacant floor space and switched the pump on. The material started to uncurl as the pump managed to fill the inflatable with air.

Beth just stood in front of the couch, and watched the whole procedure. Vergil stood next to the inflating heap with his arms folded in front of him and watched it wearily. He suddenly looked up and over at Beth who nervously caught his gaze and just stared at him, as if waiting for him to say something.

Vergil could sense the poor girl was as nervous about sleeping arrangements as he was. This entire time he had done so well to avoid majority of contact with her. He logically figured that keeping his distance from the girl would halt any possible attempts of wanting to ... well ... break the bet, should things get out of hand. Which Vergil tried _very_ hard to make sure they didn't. There was no way that he was going to lose this damnable bet between he and Dante. It's not that he didn't find her attractive — the little that he _had_ let himself notice her, he truly found her ... _pleasant_. While he had been watching the inflating mattress, he actually had a fleeting thought about what it _would_ be like to lie next to her and what she must feel like. Then Vergil mentally slapped himself, remembering the bet he _would_ win. Upon clearing his head, he then took his deep gaze off of Beth whom he'd been staring at and looked back down at the inflatable. It was just about done, and he nervously ran his hand through the side of his swept back hair. Then it occurred to him.

"Perhaps you would be more comfortable if you were to take the couch," Vergil flatly stated. As he eyed the now inflated bed looking a bit small and _way_ to cozy.

"Oh, okay," Beth replied as she unenthusiastically eyed the couch.

"Well, what I mean is –," Vergil quickly amended his reason, "I'm _quite_ positive that the couch is more comfortable than this dodgy mattress, so I'd be much obliged if you rested there comfortably instead." As he said this, he managed to crack a faint awkward smile.

Beth grinned back and nodded her head in agreement. "Okay, that's really nice of you, thanks," she kindly said. As she sank down on the soft plush couch, Vergil handed to her a blanket he had found in the back cabinet as well.

"Thanks, Vergil, and goodnight," Beth softly addressed him with a tender smile.

Vergil just eyed the girl over the couch from where he stood and nodded his head in recognition. Then he turned and stared down at the inflated block of air that awaited him.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: **Hi everyone!

It was time for a new chapter! lol I've been busy over here with a bunch of stuff. Some of it including writing up more on this story and compiling a bunch of scenes for my 'big' story on ff, 'Devil's Angel'. If you have been keeping up with that, sit tight! I should have more up on the way hopefully soon! Stay tuned.

I'm having a ton of fun with this story. It's just silly and cute ... my beta buddy Shyanon, has given me their seal of approval to post this new chappie, so I hope everyone enjoys!

And as usual, a huge 'thank you' to everyone taking a moment to post me a review. It's always appreciated, and I love to hear what you think! So feel free to drop me a line anytime! :D

Now poor Vergil, stuck with the crummy air mattress. Will he get a good night's sleep or will things turn out for the worst? And what about his date, Beth? Will he ever put some moves on that poor girl?

Read on and let's see what happens!

Enjoy!

Yours Truly,

N.

--

Vergil grabbed his backpack and thought he'd wash up before retiring for the evening. With all the activity he still hadn't had a chance to clean up yet from the Jeep mishap and thought a nice long shower was in order.

As he entered the small bathroom, it was then it occurred to him that there was no hot water supplied; not to mention that the tiny shower stall looked as if it hadn't been cleaned in ages. So with a roll of his eyes and a heavy sigh, Vergil spot cleaned the best he could with the water from the tap of the sink. He winced as the cold water assaulted his skin and he kept telling himself that this was all to ultimately make Dante suffer. And Vergil would make _sure_ that he would.

After his more than invigorating wipe down, Vergil then put on a clean silvery blue shirt and dark pair of lounge pants and headed back into the living area to retire. Upon rummaging around earlier, he had found another small surplus blanket in the cabinet for himself to cover up with. So with some apprehension Vergil cautiously eyed the bed of air, sizing up the proper way to get on it. Finally, he squatted down next to it and slowly edged himself on the bed.

As he applied his weight, the thick vinyl of the mattress produced a rather loud obscene grunt as he carefully eased down onto it. Vergil froze at the sound the bed released, as a small giggle came from over the other side of the couch. It made his face flush as he frowned and quietly defended, "It wasn't me, it was this _ridiculous_ mattress." To which Beth could be heard lightly giggling again.

Vergil sighed and decided to just forgo easing onto it and quickly flopped down on the surface. The inflatable grunted and groaned in the most obnoxious sounds imaginable as Vergil sunk in and tried to adjust himself on it. He huffed and grumbled with every twist and turn he made to get comfortable. Then as he adjusted the thick itchy blanket over himself, it proved to be too short and barely covered past his knees. So with one final contemptuous sigh, Vergil curled up on his side and clutched the blanket around his upper body and closed his eyes.

It was then the room lay silent. The only sound heard was that of the light crackling from the logs in the fireplace that were now down to a soft glow.

_Wheeez ..._

_Wheeez ..._

_Wheeez ..._

As Vergil began to relax and his breathing became slower and deeper, the mattress suddenly started to whistle in time with his breathing. With his every exhale it whined out like a pet's chew toy. He scornfully cracked open his eyes and just as he exhaled again, the inflatable let out a long squealing '_wheeez_'.

Vergil growled and tossed over, to which the bed of air just groaned then let out a long flatulent sound as he settled on his back. Curled up on the other side of the couch, Beth bit her lower lip and tried hard to stifle a chuckle at the disembodied obscene sounds coming from the other side.

Vergil now lay as still and as glued to the mattress as possible for fear of more absurdity being produced from the cursed bed. He then slowly closed his eyes and exhaled deeply as all was now silent, certain he had defeated the noisy damnable contraption. But as Vergil began to relax, there was the sound of a light '_pop_' and the mattress began to squeal loudly like air escaping a deflating balloon. His eyes shot open in horror and he felt himself sink as the mattress began to slowly soften and deflate. It squealed and screeched even louder as the air was quickly escaping from the sad bag of air.

Beth couldn't contain her laughter any longer as she belted out a hearty laugh from her place on the couch. Vergil angrily roared as he flung off the short blanket and bolted up from the deflating monstrosity. He hastily grabbed his boots, slipped them on and with a final fuming growl, headed for the front door.

Beth turned over from the crook of the couch she had buried herself in, and sat up as she nervously watched Vergil fling open the rickety cabin door and storm out, slamming it behind him. She stared blankly at the closed askew door for a moment then quickly got up from the couch. She hastily wrapped herself in her blanket, slid her shoes on and followed after him.

Vergil stalked off from Dante's self-proclaimed 'love shack'. He had no idea where he was going and didn't really care at this point. With a hard wide gait, he absently pounded down a narrow path through the woods located off to the side from the cabin. He thought this had to be the stupidest thing he had ever agreed to do. Sure, he had _always_ been competitive with his brother and never backed down from a posed challenge. But _this_ had to have topped them all.

As Vergil stalked along the path he sneered at his surroundings. Oh how he hated the outdoors ... _nature_. He thought it always smelled foul like dirt and filth _and_ it made his nose itch. The air was thick with the stale dampness of night and Vergil sniffled and rubbed his nose from the imposing moist air.

Wrapped tightly in the old blanket to ward off the chill of night, Beth had caught a glimpse of Vergil hurry off down the trail and she quickly followed after him. She was amazed at how fast he could walk, for even with her quick jogging pace she could barely keep him in sight. As she huffed along the trail after him, he turned a corner up ahead and she lost sight of him. She continued on, and finally rounding the same corner, she came into a clearing of the woods. The trail ended and opened up to the shore of a large lake. Beth stopped abruptly and caught her breath from her hard pace. As she stood there, she saw the back of Vergil just up ahead at the lake's bank. Standing tall and rigid with his arms folded in front of him, he silently stared out at the water.

Beth marveled at how the clear overhead moon cast its cool silvery glow down over the landscape and twinkled in the calm rippling of the lake water. She then fixed her attention on Vergil and how the pale light illuminated him, making his figure stand out from the landscape. Outlined in a soft glow, it gave him an ethereal bright aura making his hair seem a more brilliant white and softer in the moonlight.

As Beth stepped forward to where Vergil stood, he suddenly turned his head and eyed her approach. "What are you doing here," he spoke in a flat demanding tone.

Beth stopped and stood still, eyeing him cautiously. She couldn't tell if he was angry with her or not. "I –, I was just worried about you," she sheepishly answered. "Is everything ok?" she asked as she then carefully advanced toward him.

Vergil scoffed at her question and smirked. "Oh, yes everything is _grand_," he sarcastically replied. Here he was in the most deplorable of situations. At a dilapidated beyond belief retreat, bound in a wager he could not and _must_ _not_ lose, and with a female he undoubtedly was becoming attracted to and could not do a damn thing about it. _Grand indeed._

Beth came to stand next to him as he just idly turned back to look out at the water. "You know, it's really not so bad," Beth lightly said as she looked up at him.

Vergil side glanced at her with a raised eyebrow and nothing more. _Foolish girl. How simple she is. Did she really believe that this was a pleasant excursion?_

"I mean sure your brother, um, picked a _real_ winner of a get-a-way," she continued as her comment actually made Vergil now turn his head and give her his attention. "But even though it's kind of, uh, ruff and ... well, basically a _real_ shit hole, it's actually kind of fun," she finished and gazed at him with a genuine smile.

Vergil's eyebrows arched in a sort of bemused expression at Beth's blatant choice of words for Dante's event planning. Then the makings of a small grin formed in his finding her words amusing.

"See, _you_ think so too," Beth teased.

Vergil's momentary grin relaxed back into his usual scowled expression. "Well ... the company is tolerable," he casually confessed.

"_Tolerable?_" Beth questioned his quirky statement with a sarcastic chuckle. "So ... I'm 'tolerable' then?" she jabbed back as she turned from Vergil and walked over to a large grouping of boulders near the water's edge.

Vergil apprehensively watched the girl walk away from him. _Dammit!_ He hadn't meant to offend her. He watched as she took a seat and adjusted herself on one of the large flat rocks and pulled the blanket around her tighter as she absently stared out into the moonlit water. Vergil clenched his fists and thought a moment, knowing what was at stake with the bet, but he couldn't help it. He was interested in her and he wanted her to like _him_. He was sure she found him at least remotely intriguing and he didn't want to ruin that.

Vergil thought he never had the kind of luck his brother had with women. Hell, Vergil was sure that even if Dante farted, women would line up just to get a chance to smell it. He on the other hand, on the rare opportunities he had, struggled and tried too hard sometimes to get a girl to like him. So much so, that most of the time it usually backfired and wound up causing his date to leave in haste, never to return and left Vergil yet again – alone.

So Vergil took a deep breath and strode over to where Beth sat. He looked down at the silent girl, yet she didn't return his gaze and remained fixated on the lake. He anxiously rubbed the back of his neck wondering what he should say to amend his faux pas. _Smooth as usual, Vergil._

It was then he decided to take a seat next to Beth on the rock. She scooted slightly to make him some room, but still said nothing and continued looking out at the water. Vergil sat rigid and still next to her as he joined in her quiet onlooking. The two remained in silence for a few moments and Vergil fretted about what it was he should do next, when Beth suddenly spoke up.

"Amusing."

"What?" Vergil turned to look at her with a befuddled glance.

"Amusing," Beth repeated and looked at him. "I would have said I find the company amusing," she said with a slight grin. "Well, definitely Dante," she added with a chuckle.

Vergil narrowed his eyes. "Yes, I suppose so," he flatly agreed. "Dante has always been sort of a ... joke," he sarcastically added.

His statement made Beth giggle. She then eyed him questioningly and replied, "You know, the two of you may look identical but you certainly are different."

Vergil intently looked at her for a moment then smirked, "Yes, decidedly so," he seriously answered. "You and your companion seem quite the opposite as well," he added.

"Yeah, you could say Niki and I are ... different, but she's my best friend," Beth answered with a wide grin.

Vergil furrowed his brow at her statement. "I don't understand, how then if you are so different are you such good friends?" he questioned.

Beth tilted her head, surprised by his question. "Because being different is sometimes what makes friends work," she answered matter-of-factly.

"Curious," Vergil simply answered and absently looked away, pondering her simple statement.

Beth smirked at her odd companion as the two sat in silence again for a moment, both gazing back out at the sparkling ripples in the lake. The night air temperature was steadily dropping and a slight breeze was picking up. Feeling the chill of the wind, without a word, Beth scooted closer to Vergil and wrapped half of the blanket around him, sharing it between them.

Vergil turned to her, surprised at her sudden action. The cold really wasn't effecting him as he was sure it was her, but never-the-less, he thought better to oppose her kind gesture and readily accepted the girl's offer.

"Amiable," Vergil suddenly said in the stillness.

"What?" Beth confusingly looked at him.

"I would have said that I find _you_ ... amiable," Vergil added.

Beth let out a hearty chuckle at his statement that made Vergil tense. He raised his eyebrows and stared at her apprehensively. _Had he yet again said the wrong thing?_ Vergil swallowed the nervous lump in his throat as Beth raised a hand to her mouth to stifle her laughter.

"I –, I truly meant that as a complement," Vergil nervously corrected. "Is that not an acceptable term?" he tried his best to sincerely ask.

Beth only laughed harder as tears began to pool at the corners of her eyes. "No ... No it's fine," she managed to get out, wiping away her collected tears. "It's just –," she started as she tried to compose herself better. "It's just that your use of words is so ... interesting," she finished while calming her giggling.

"Ah, I see," Vergil answered as he uncomfortably hung his head down. He knew she meant that as a complement, but somehow he couldn't help but feel slightly embarrassed by it all.

"You know," Beth continued, "I like to write and you could be a good beta reader for my stories. You're pretty, uh, well versed with your vocabulary, and I'm sure you would be a big help with editing," she stated with a honest smile as Vergil just looked at her pensively.

"You are a writer then?" he interestedly asked.

"I'd like to think so," Beth humbly answered.

"What do you write about?" he inquired.

"Oh, I tend to enjoy writing fiction stories mostly," Beth shyly replied.

Vergil looked back out at the calm waters and reflectively stated, "You know, when I was younger I rather enjoyed composing literature myself. Mind you, I was rather juvenile and took interest in telling incredulous tales of heroic knights rescuing their helpless maidens from the clutches of evil demons and beasts," he said scoffing at his own memory.

"Well, that sounds fun," Beth reassured.

Vergil side glanced at her and smirked. "Yes, it was rather ... fun," he confessed. He took a deep breath and sighed as he continued to absently gaze at the lake. "I use to write my stories, and give them to my mother. She told me she truly loved every one of them and said I could make a great writer some day," he reflected solemnly. "But as I got older I somehow found what I wrote to be foolish and unrealistic, so I stopped," he finalized.

"That's too bad," Beth sadly replied. "You should try writing again."

Vergil just turned his head and looked at her. His intense blue eyes softened and silently thanked her for her opinion.

"Tell me one of your stories," Beth suddenly requested.

"What?" Vergil's face scrunched in confusion.

"Tell me about one of these heroic knights," Beth added with a sweet smile.

Vergil stared at her unmoved and thought a moment. "Well, there is one," he hesitantly started. "It was my mother's absolute favorite. She had me read it to her aloud so many times that I practically memorized it," he recalled.

"Then _tell_ me," Beth now insisted.

Vergil thought about it briefly, feeling rather embarrassed by his childhood hobby. "Very well," he finally agreed.

As he turned his attention back out to the water, even though it had been years, Vergil pulled the story from his memory like he had read it just yesterday. Secretly, Vergil knew why this particular story was his mother's favorite. He had made up the story to be about a handsome knight who was really a noble demon in disguise.

As Vergil began his tale, he paused briefly as he felt Beth wiggle closer to him. Now touching side by side, she gently lay her head down, resting it on his shoulder. Her sudden action made Vergil tense at first, but he relaxed as her warmth seemed to comfort him. He adjusted the blanket surrounding them together and continued on with his story.

As Vergil went on with his tale, telling about how the brave demon knight fought for justice and good, Beth would softly sigh and giggle at the parts she found intriguing and entertaining. Inwardly Vergil marveled at how much, almost word for word, he recalled of his old story. It had been so long since he had even thought about it, that he was truly amazed how clearly it all came back to him. It was if he were that young boy again seated in his mother's lap, surrounded by her comforting arms sharing his fantastic story with her.

After sometime had passed, Vergil wrapped up his tale with his demonic knight rescuing the fair haired maiden from the evil lord. Vergil ended the story with the knight revealing to the maiden that he was indeed a demon, but the beautiful maiden didn't care. For he was pure and kind, and the maiden loved him for what he possessed inside him – a loving heart. Vergil had wrote that the two went on to live happily ever after. The final scene made Vergil recall that this story was the only one he ever wrote with the cliché blissful ending. He had never believed in such sugar coated tales, but his mother had such an affection for them that he had wrote this specifically with her in mind. And it made her ... happy.

"Well, I do believe that you are the only other person I've ever shared that with. What did you think?" Vergil sincerely inquired.

Beth did not move and remained silent with her head still gently positioned on his shoulder.

Vergil creased his brow as he then took note of the silent girl's slow breathing pattern and soft exhaling sounds. He smirked as he realized she had fallen asleep. He had been too engrossed in his old story to notice when she might have drifted off, but he thought it was no matter. It had surprisingly made _him_ content to recall something so long ago that he cherished.

Vergil then looked down at the sleeping girl on his shoulder. So close to him now, he studied her hair for the first time. Although it was dark out, the moonlight reflected off her smooth tresses making them look like pure strands of some dark silk. Vergil leaned down closer to the top of her head and noted the smell of something light and sweet. He thought it probably the scent from her shampoo she must use and it's intriguing fragrance enticed him further. He leaned down even closer to her now, the tip of his nose lightly touched her soft hair. Vergil closed his eyes and slowly inhaled generously. It was a light delicate scent, a sort of floral bouquet mixed with sweet undertones. If Vergil had to correlate it to something, it reminded him of cherry blossoms in the springtime. He greedily inhaled the intoxicating scent one more time, secretly admiring the girl lying next to him. _Damn you Dante._

Beth suddenly stirred and moaned awake. Vergil quickly pulled away from the top of her head and cleared his throat as he shifted to stand up. Beth came to and blinked her weary eyes a few times, she had to quickly right herself from his hasty removal.

"It's very late, perhaps we should return to the dwelling," Vergil promptly spoke up.

Beth regained her wits and then looked at him with surprised eyes. "Oh! Did I fall asleep?" she questioned.

"Indeed," Vergil simply answered with a nod of his head.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Beth truly apologized as she stood up and adjusted the blanket around her.

"It's quite alright. I ... enjoyed your company regardless," Vergil assured and awkwardly looked away from her.

Beth stood from the rock and pulled the blanket around her. "Thanks," she genuinely replied and shyly smiled back at him.

"Well then, we should be on our way," Vergil announced as he began to walk back to the path of the cabin as Beth started to follow.

The two returned to the dilapidated shack and readied for sleep. Beth returned to her place on the couch and curled up with the blanket tucked around her. Vergil on the other hand, stood looming over the deflated air bed and glared. With a sigh, he turned and headed for the empty chair of the seating area and sank in. He covered himself with the all-too-short blanket around his shoulders and torso as he lay his head against the back of the chair and closed his eyes.

"Vergil," Beth whispered.

Vergil cracked open one eye and spied the girl peeking at him through her blanket nest on the couch. "Hmm?" he replied in a low, lax tone.

"I'm glad they lived happily ever after," Beth quietly said and giggled once. "Good night," she finished and turned over into the crook of the couch.

Vergil raised his head off the chair and opened his other eye in curious disbelief. "Good night," he softly replied and smirked.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Hi All! It's been a little while since I've posted anything. Like I'm sure a lot of you, I was busy with the Thanksgiving holiday weekend and a few personal matters came up I had to attend to. But I finally found a little down time from all of that and managed to complete this chapter.**

**For those of you keeping up with my other story 'Devil's Angel' I have been working out the next chapter on that as well, and I hope to have something soon for you guys! Thanks for sticking around and stay tuned! :D**

**As always, thanks to everyone taking time to send me comments and reviews. Your thoughts are much appreciated, and it really does help me develop my stories and writing. It sounds like my stories are still keeping you entertained, especially this silly one. I'm just as entertained writing some of the antics the DMC boys come up with! I mean, what could Dante possibly do next? ;)**

**Well, it's a brand new day at Dante's 'love shack'. Is Vergil going to be able to stick to his bet that he won't 'kiss the girl'? Surely the elder son of Sparda has enough will power to thwart the urge. And what does Dante have up his sleeve for the day with his date? Read on and find out!**

**Yours,**

**N.**

**

* * *

  
**

The early morning sun filtered through the tree canopy of the wooded retreat as long, thin, yellow rays of light began to pierce through the front cabin windows. Beth had gotten up not too long ago and was in the bathroom freshening up while Vergil, on the other hand, had woken up a few hours earlier from his less-than-comfortable resting place consisting of the living area chair. He casually sat back in the seat with one leg crossed at the ankle, as he mildly entertained himself with a dusty old book he had discovered stashed under a small table near the fireplace. Suddenly the silence of the room was disturbed when the handle to the back bedroom door jiggled. It swung open on its dry hinges, as Dante stiffly emerged from the room still shrouded in a sleepy daze.

Vergil looked up from his read, side-glancing at his brother's entrance. "Good morning, brother, sleep well?" he dully inquired with a raised brow at Dante's appearance. He wore the same clothes from the day before, only now the golf shirt was heavily wrinkled and hung untucked over the gingham print shorts. His dark framed faux glasses rested crookedly perched on top of his bed messed hair.

Dante yawned ferociously and stretched as he slowly shuffled into the living room while scratching his backside. "I didn't sleep at all," he moaned, rubbing his eyes.

"You didn't ...?, " Vergil began to nervously question as he looked more directly at his twin now.

"Nah," Dante groaned out disappointingly. "Nothin' happened. She was out _all_ night."

"Then...?" Vergil furrowed his brow and looked at Dante inquisitively, noting his brother's blood shot eyes.

"_Duuude_, it was like sleeping next to a running chainsaw all night," Dante whined as he lazily plopped down on the couch and dropped his head on the back rest.

"Lovely," Vergil flatly stated as he went back to absently thumbing through the book.

"Yeah, she is," Dante dreamily cooed, staring up at the patch work ceiling as Vergil briefly glanced up and curled his upper lip in mild disgust.

"OH!" Dante exclaimed causing Vergil to twitch at his sudden outburst. His eyes went wide as he quickly recalled what it was he was going to do today. Dante then bolted up and went to the kitchenette.

Vergil, with his nose down in the book, eyed his brother as he shuffled by wondering what Dante could possibly be up to now. As he flipped through the next few pages of his read, Vergil listened discreetly as Dante rustled and rummaged around in the back kitchenette. Then after a pause of silence, Vergil's ears pricked back as he heard a light scratching sound.

_Snkt ..._

"Argh."

_Snkt ..._

"Screw!"

_Snkt ..._

"Dammit!"

_Snkt ..._

"Balls!"

"DANTE! What in the name of all that's – what _are_ you doing?" Vergil annoyingly growled as he turned in the chair to see what his other half was up to.

Dante stood at the kitchenette counter with a small oil lantern he had found earlier in the back storage cabinet. He had cleaned it off and filled it with some oil he took from one of the house lamps, spilling some on the counter in the process. He shrugged off the mishap and simply sopped it up with an old rag, throwing it in the small trash bin next to the side of the counter.

"Dude, I can't get the friggin' matches to light!" he growled.

_Snkt ..._

"Oh, c'mon!"

"Dante, those matches are probably older than we are, so it's no wonder that they don't work," Vergil enlightened.

_Snkt ..._

"Oh, wait! W_aaait_ –," Dante said apprehensively as the final match he struck flickered, then stayed lit.

Vergil watched intently as Dante carefully cupped his hand around the lit match and stuck it in the lantern, lighting the wick. Then, with a quick flick of his wrist, he extinguished the burning flame and tossed the successful match in to the trash.

"YES!" Dante happily exclaimed.

"You know, you _really_ shouldn't be throwing those matches in the trash like that , they could start a fire," Vergil stated matter-of-factly.

"Thank you, Ranger Give-Me-A-Hard-Time," Dante sourly retorted. "Since when were you ever a Boy Scout?"

"Okay, don't say I didn't warn you," Vergil dismissed with a shrug of his shoulders. "What exactly are you lighting that for anyway?" he added questioningly, furrowing his brow.

"Today is the day, bro! I got a _sure thing_ planned," Dante smirked as he strolled over to the living area near his twin.

Vergil eyed him apprehensively. "For?" he further inquired.

"Dude, for what else? Doin' _the deed!_" Dante coined. "Today is the day the Dante-man makes his move – all the way around to third and headin' for home!" he snickered and made to mock swing a baseball bat. "Prepare to lose the bet, bro!"

Vergil rolled his eyes at Dante's metaphor. "And do tell, how do you plan on achieving that with a lantern?" he asked, baffled by his brother's plan.

Dante huffed, "The lantern is for this trail I was told about. Ya see, there's a trail not far from here that leads to this bad ass old cave. I figure Niki and I would head down the trail and once we're alone in the cave ... well, ya know," Dante winked with a sly grin.

"Charming," Vergil blandly replied.

"OH!" Dante suddenly exclaimed and put the lantern down on the coffee table then grabbed his duffel bag from the floor. Vergil eyed him as he shoved his arm down in the vast bag and feverishly rummaged around. "Ah!" he finally exclaimed as he pulled his arm out.

Vergil stared aghast as Dante recovered from the depths of his bag a rather obscenely long strip of condoms, that when he revealed it, unrolled and hit the floor.

"Can't forget the rubbers," Dante stated seriously.

"Do you plan on copulating with the _entire_ forest! Why would you possibly need that many prophylactics," Vergil frowned at him dumbfounded, mocking his brother's lewd stash of condoms.

"Hey, you can't be too prepared, bro," Dante added casually. "Want some?" he then genuinely offered, shoving the roll right at Vergil's face.

"NO!" Vergil barked and quickly pulled back aghast.

"Suit yourself," Dante shrugged.

"Dante, I swear, sometimes you seriously challenge my mental fortitude," Vergil huffed irritated.

"No problem, bro, I try," Dante beamed to which Vergil just sighed and shook his head.

Suddenly the handle on the back bedroom door jiggled as the door unlatched and swung open. Dante hastily shoved the mile of rubbers back in his bag and returned it on the floor. Quickly remembering his disguise, he fumbled the faux glasses perched in his hair back on to his nose.

Vergil recoiled and cringed as his eyes lay upon the abominable creature approaching. He stared at it in a wide eyed dumbfounded glare as it shuffled to the living room while intently scratching its backside. Niki emerged from the bedroom dressed in a baggy pair of Dante's red boxers and her T-shirt from the day before. Although her hair was still in a pony tail, most of it had found its way loose and stuck out wildly like a sort of hairy halo around her head. Vergil then gawked at her face as her eye make up had smeared around her eyes like a mangy raccoon and lipstick had smudged above her upper lip. Vergil thought she looked as if a large vehicle had run her through.

"Hey boys, mornin'," she tiredly greeted as she shuffled over to the coffee table and shoved a marshmallow in her mouth for a sort of makeshift breakfast.

"Mornin' babe," Dante said with a grin as Vergil retracted his hanging jaw. He curled his upper lip and sneered, staring in awe at the train wreck in front of him. Dante then explained to her what he had in store for the two of them today, minus the details about his plan for _'the deed' _of course.

"Oh that sounds great! I guess I should go get cleaned up," she stated and inhaled one more marshmallow.

As Vergil snapped out of his dumbfounded daze, he thought they were certainly a match made in .... well where ever it was.

Beth had just come out of the bathroom freshened up and was finishing brushing her hair when Vergil spoke up, "I'd like to quickly use the facilities before you, if I may."

Niki, shuffling back to the bedroom to get her things, limply waved her hand in dismissive approval, "Yeah, yeah no problem Spike. Go for it."

Vergil frowned as Dante just snickered at her comment about his brother. He got up from the chair and grabbed a few personal items from his backpack, then headed to the bathroom. As Vergil passed Beth near the couch, he caught a fresh hint of the perfume she had just applied. He secretly inhaled deep and lightly closed his eyes at the delicate intoxicating scent. Suddenly caught off guard when Beth said 'good morning' to him, Vergil just nervously grumbled some incoherent words and nodded as he shuffled into the bathroom.

Beth lowered her head and let out a heavy sigh as she walked over to the coffee table to absently pick through the snack pile, not really interested in any of it. Dante squinted at her in thought, then casually strolled up asking,"Hey babe, what's with the heavy?"

"Oh, it's nothing. I'm fine," she shyly replied to Dante with a false half-smile.

"C'mon, it's about my bro isn't it?" he coyly asked folding his arms.

"Well, kinda," Beth nervously took a breath and looked down at her feet, "It's just that he doesn't –,"

"Cheer up babe. I happen know Vergil's _crazy_ about you. I can tell," Dante stated with a confident smirk.

"Really?" Beth looked up wearily into Dante's steady blue eyes. "But he acts like he doesn't want to, uh –," she uncomfortably started while fiddling with her shirt hem.

Dante then put his arm around the timid girl's shoulders. "See, babe, it's like this ... my brother, well, he's a bit _tight_ ," he stated with a wink.

Beth looked up at Dante confused by his statement. "Tight?" she repeated.

Dante let out a sigh, "Yeah, he's a bit _pent up_ if you get me," he elaborated.

"Oh, I see," Beth understandingly replied.

Dante just absently continued, "It's kinda like if Vergil were to swallow coal, he'd probably pinch off diamonds," he pensively squinted, trying to imagine the process.

"Uh, okay Dante, I get it," Beth blushed and chuckled at his crude figure of speech.

Dante then moved around to face her, laying both his hands on the girl's shoulders. "Look, all I'm sayin' babe is that if you want a little action out of him, _you're_ gonna have to make the first move," he enlightened.

Beth thought for a moment about it, then slowly nodded her head understandingly. "Gee, thanks Dante, I was thinking it was me," she confessed.

"Nah, my bro just doesn't know what to do with a fine hottie like you," he teased.

Beth softly laughed as she playfully shoved him on the shoulder for his forward complement. Dante smiled a wide satisfied grin. He'd admit Vergil was good. _Real_ good. Dante was sure he would have folded by now, with a perfect girl for him just _wanting_ Vergil to make a move. Hell, he thought it so damn tragic, Dante almost wanted to kiss the poor girl on principle. But he thought it was time to throw a little fuel on the fire. _Pucker up, bro, time's almost up._

* * *

A little while later as Niki emerged from the bathroom now completely put back together, Vergil had taken his place back in the seating chair and marveled at the blonde's impressive metamorphosis. "Fascinating," he simply stated then put his nose back in the found book from earlier.

"Well, lets get goin' babe! Our cave awaits," Dante announced to his date with a smirk.

"Oh, Dante this cave sounds so cool, I can't wait to check it out," Niki bubbled.

"Batter up," Vergil deadpanned without looking up from his read.

"What?" Niki blankly eyed Vergil.

"Uh, nothin' babe," Dante quickly spoke up as he subtly shoved her to the front door while glaring at his twin's head. With lantern in hand, Dante held the front door open and let Niki exit the cabin. Before he stepped out, he turned to face the remaining couple. "Now you two kids behave, and when I get back I don't want to hear that _nothing_ went on," Dante teased and quickly winked at Beth. As Beth blushed, Vergil looked up from his book and narrowed his eyes at Dante. "Oh, and Verg," Dante cleared his throat. "For a change do something _I would_ do," Dante smugly added.

"Get out," Vergil flatly replied.

Dante snickered and shut the crooked door behind him.

The cabin now fell silent as Beth glanced over at Vergil, nose buried in his read.

_... if you want a little action out of him, you're gonna have to make the first move. _

Beth took in a deep breath and heavily sighed as she grabbed her bag and dug in, pulling out a few journals. She walked over to where Vergil was seated, absently absorbing himself in the old book. She stood rigid in front of him, clutching the journals to her front as she nervously tucked a piece of auburn hair behind her ear and cleared her throat. Vergil looked up from his read and just blankly stared at her.

"Uh, hey Vergil," Beth nervously started, "Since you like to read, uh ... I um, I was wondering if you'd like to read some of my ... um ... stories, you know beta read for me?" she asked sheepishly.

Vergil looked down at the journals she held in front of her. Considering he was bored out of his mind and hadn't really held any interest in the old book he had found, he decided to oblige her request. "Very well," he simply stated. He held out a hand for her to give him one of the books, but Beth only clutched them tighter to her.

"Oh, well ... I was wondering if you'd like to go sit down by the lake like last night, you know ... um ... and we could read there," she said with a nervous smile then quickly added, "I mean it's a nice day and all so –"

Vergil dropped his hand and let out a sigh. He didn't like where this was going at all. He knew she was trying to lure him out and entice him with her feminine ways. But damn it all to hell, it was _working_. As he stood from the chair, Beth backed up while he looked down at her and simply said, "After you," holding his hand out for her to lead the way.

Beth grinned happily and shyly chuckled as she turned to head out the door to lead the way to the lake.

Vergil followed behind, rolling his eyes at his own falter. _What am I doing? This is so foolish._ But he assured himself that he'd just entertain the girl's request and nothing more. Surely nothing would come of that.

The two walked down the path, silence between them, as they reached their destination. They sat themselves down on a large flat boulder along the shore of the small lake. The sun sparkled off the water's surface as a light breeze blew through the surrounding trees.

Beth shifted and got comfortable as Vergil just sat tall and rigid observing the girl settle in and thumb through one of her journals. It was then he took note for the first time how her hair really looked. Her shoulder length tresses floated softly back and forth on the passing breeze and he had noticed how habitually she would tuck a long lock behind her ear. The warm sunlight that reflected off her rich auburn mane lit it's highlights like strands of fire. He thought it unique and _exceptional_. Then at catching himself falling into her lure, he quickly shifted his seating and looked away out at the water.

"Oh, here," Beth finally said as she reached what she wanted to read to him. She looked up from her journal at him as he caught her gaze. In the light her eyes were as brilliant as her hair. He realized that he hadn't noticed before that her eyes were a clear hazel. Like two perfect pieces of pure amber, with a slight hint of a greenish tint to them. In the bright daylight they seemed to be glowing, a beautiful contrast to her soft peachy complexion.

"Vergil?" Beth asked as he rapidly blinked, realizing that she had been speaking to him and he hadn't heard a word of it.

"Wha –, what?" he nervously replied and dryly swallowed.

"Are you okay?" Beth softly asked.

"Fine. Yes. What were you saying again, please?" he agitatedly responded.

Beth looked at him questioningly but then repeated what she had said, saying, "Well, here is a part that I was working out for my story, but I'm kind of stuck on it so I was wondering if I could read these couple of paragraphs to you and see what you think of the context of it," she asked.

"Alright, please ... continue," he accepted and shook off his previous thoughts, trying to instead focus his head on listening to her tell her story.

As Beth began to read, Vergil listened ... then watched. He slowly began to focus on her lips, watching them purse together forming the words coming out of her mouth, but slowly he began to hear none of it. Beth had applied a fresh coat of her strawberry lip gloss earlier. It's subtle pink hue enhanced her already healthy lips and it's moisture glistened in the sun, lightly shimmering as she moved her lips. He could pick up the faint scent of it's strawberry flavor and he wondered if it tasted as good as it smelled. He _wanted_ to find out.

Vergil unknowingly began to lean forward to the unsuspecting girl, transfixed on her delectable lips.

_You'll so kiss her._

That did it. He suddenly heard Dante's voice in his head and it brought him back to reality of the fact that the bet was still on and that ..._ he wanted to kiss her! NO!_

Vergil suddenly growled and shot up from the rock they were seated on as he spun to head back up the trail.

"Vergil!" Beth gasped, taken by surprise at his sudden action. "What's wrong? Vergil!" She called after him as he hastily stalked up the path back to the cabin.

Beth snapped shut her journal and took off after him.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N:** Hi everyone! Well, it's been a while since I updated here. Finally getting back on track from after the holidays and new year. Whew! I think the last post I made was my little holiday one-shot right before Christmas. It's called 'Home for the Holidays', if you missed it and would like to check it out.

Anyways, so we left off with Dante leading his date to the cave 'o love ... his _sure thing_ that'll have him winning the bet in no time, right?

And poor Vergil, has he lost his will to avoid the temptation to want to kiss his date? Will he cave and lose the bet to -_gasp_- Dante? ;-)

The final chapter awaits. Read on and find out who will win the wager.

As always, enjoy!

N.

* * *

Dante strolled along the path with Niki that lead to the secluded cave. Deeming it his 'sure thing' as he was adamantly positive this would be the ultimate persuasion to finally score with the blonde, thus winning one side of the bet with Vergil. And he thought it couldn't happen none too soon. Already thoroughly fed up with having to suffer the ridiculous disguise he'd been wearing, the tacky gingham shorts he had on were now starting to chafe and Dante couldn't wait to slide back into a familiar pair of leather pants. As he discreetly dug the gingham out from the crack of his backside, Niki turned to him suddenly.

"So like what's up with your brother, Dante?" she blatantly questioned. "Ya know I _did_ promise Beth a good time, and well, no offense but your brother's sort of a colossal dud."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that," Dante casually replied folding his hands leisurely behind his head as they walked along. "I think those two just needed a little alone time – _if_ you know what mean," he finished with a coy wink, secretly proud of himself for the little _nudge_ he gave to Beth earlier. _Pucker up, bro._

"Okay, if you say so," Niki simply dismissed with a shrug.

"Trust me, babe," Dante replied as he snickered to himself trying to imagine Vergil enduring being dressed in this tacky getup for an entire month from losing his side of the bet. "Hey, look up there," Dante suddenly announced as he pointed out the cave starting to appear in the clearing just up ahead.

--

Vergil hastily stalked back to the cabin from his close encounter with Beth by the lake.

Things were getting out of control. He had been absolutely positive before going on this date that there would be no way he'd fall prey to _any_ female persuasions. Now though … things were different. The problem was he hadn't planned on_ actually liking_ his companion. Hell, if she had been _anything_ like Dante's date, it would have been a cakewalk. But, Beth proved to be more of a challenge to Vergil's _too_ well-checked emotions. He hadn't anticipated on the likes of actually finding interest in the girl. Not only had he become to find her physically attractive, but he truly _liked_ her as well. She was interesting, intellectual, and Vergil could tell in the girl's eyes that she was looking for something from him – and secretly he _wanted_ to oblige. _Damn you Dante!_

As Vergil reached the cabin, he could hear Beth not far behind calling out his name. He closed his eyes as his hand grasped the door handle. _What am I going to do? Surely I can't just leave, that would only void the bet and naturally I'd ... lose._ He clenched his jaw and inwardly cursed himself for his competitive streak with his brother. If it wasn't for that, this wouldn't have been an issue. But Vergil couldn't help himself and he'd never let Dante get the better of him. _Never._

Beth entered the clearing just as she watched Vergil hastily step inside the cabin, quickly slamming the door behind him. As she huffed along in her brisk pace to catch up to him, she gulped down the nervous lump that formed in her throat worrying about what possibly could have set him off in such a manner. When she finally reached the cabin, Beth hesitated for the door handle, taking in a calming breath before entering.

--

Dante and Niki had arrived at their secluded retreat and proceeded into the dark entrance of the cave. The blonde carried the small lantern that Dante had lit earlier for the excursion, holding it out at arms length in front of her to light their pathway. It's warm yellow glow flickered off the rocky enclosure as they made their way deeper inside the cool dark hollow.

"Whoa," Dante exhaled as a surprisingly vast underground chamber lay ahead of the exploring couple.

"It's _so_ big," Niki chimed in with awe as Dante suddenly turned to her comment with a raised brow and a playful smirk.

"Naturally," he smugly replied.

"Huh?" The blonde turned to him and tilted her head as Dante just smiled at his private joke. She then set the lantern down on the flat stone floor as the two stopped to take in the wonderment of their surroundings for a moment. The interior of the cave was massive. Enormous chambers supported by giant stone pillars, resembling something like an interior of a grand cathedral, extended farther than their eyes could see. Deep within, a large opening in the ceiling allowed light to filter in from high above. It reflected off a small collected pool of water below, illuminating the interior with a soft, blue shimmering glow. While high above them, long spindling stalactites of all sizes and fantastic colors dripped down like strange icicles in a surreal painting.

"See babe, I told ya this place was gonna be _awesome_," Dante added with a wide grin, staring out at the void with outstretched arms in presentation of his discovery.

Suddenly without warning, Dante was knocked off his feet. The small blonde had sprung forward like a flying monkey, wrapping her arms around his neck and legs around his torso, tackling him to the ground.

"Whoa, slow down babe!" Dante mused as his petite assailant straddled on top of him.

"Oh Dante, I thought we'd _never_ be alone," Niki cooed and began to feverishly nibble at his neck. "This is _so_ romantic," she breathed out in between her groping assault.

Dante's eyes glanced over at his aggressive attacker dumbfounded. _Well, damn. Was it really that simple?_ He shrugged.

The blonde then suddenly paused from her barrage on his neck and quickly took hold of his face between her hands. Dante's cheeks smushed between her firm vise as she stared intently into his wide befuddled eyes. "Are you ready to test out the acoustics of this place?" she excitedly asked in an aroused breath. And then simply went back to hastily nibbling down the side of his cheek.

"Okay," Dante innocently replied, dumbfounded at her blunt statement. He then quivered as she had apparently found a sensitive spot behind his ear and preceded to take full advantage of it.

"Hey!" Dante let out in a nervous chuckle and shifted his head from her bite. "Aren't you a kinky little –," he began as the girl's mouth met his abruptly. "Minx," he managed to mumble out between their pressed lips.

As the couples lips met in a feverish display of kissing, Dante reached up to remove his fictitious spectacles when he was suddenly halted by the girl's firm grip on his wrist.

"No! Don't take them off," she anxiously breathed out in between their connecting lips. "I think their _hot_," she added, as her mouth descended his chin and eagerly made its way to his neck. As her hands traveled down his front and found their way to his waist, she began to unfasten the button of his shorts and slowly slid the zipper down.

This was it. Things were going easier than he had ever expected. Dante lay splayed on the ground, staring pensively up at the vaulted ceiling as a wide devilish grin slowly spread across his face. _Jackpot_. Oh how he reveled in delight at the girl's last statement and how he only wished Vergil could have witnessed that. _See bro, it ain't the threads that make a man. And certainly not this one. No matter how you wrap it, there's only one Dante. Hells y–_

"SHIT!" Dante suddenly exclaimed as his abrupt word echoed through the cavern like a ghostly detached voice. He bolted upright in haste, causing the blonde to tumble off him and land harshly on the hard ground.

"Ow!" she yelped. "What the _hell_ was that for, Dante?" She frowned while rubbing her backside.

Dante jumped up quickly to a standing position. _Rubbers! _Of all things, he had forgot to take the condoms with him.

"Uh, hey babe, I forgot about somethin'," Dante started in his best casual voice and hastily refastened his shorts. "I need to run back to the cabin," he added.

"What?" Niki squawked and quickly stood from the ground brushing her rear off. "You're not just gonna leave me _here?_" she agitatedly scolded.

"Sit tight babe, I won't be long. I promise," he added, already heading for the exit of the cavern.

"Dante!" Niki belted out as she watched him quickly disappear from sight.

Once Dante left the cave, he picked up speed and feverishly sprinted back down the trail toward the cabin. He was confident that he could be quick enough and hoped that his stupid error in plans wouldn't kill the mood too harshly. _He hoped._

--

When Beth slowly entered the cabin she found Vergil standing just feet from the door, with his back to her. He stood pensively, hands on his hips with his head down.

"Vergil?" Beth softly spoke and stepped toward him.

He turned hastily and pointedly eyed her, causing the girl to hesitate her advance. Then without a word he stalked toward her, brushing by, and headed for the door.

"Vergil, wait," She called out and gently took his forearm as he passed by, stopping him from leaving.

He turned and the couple eyed each other in silence. Beth opened her mouth to speak, but instead she shyly turned her back to him.

Vergil took a step up to her. He stood so close to her now he could smell her light delicate sent. It reminded him of roses with a hint of sweetness to it. It was so ... feminine. He leaned in slightly to indulge himself in it further just as she suddenly turned to face him. He quickly pulled back.

"You know, I was skeptical about coming to this whole thing," she admitted, looking everywhere but at his face.

Vergil raised a brow and stared at her inquisitively.

"I've been on double dates with Niki before, and I have to say that–," she paused and suddenly began to sniff at the air. "Hey, do you smell something?" she questioned and furrowed her brow. "It kinda smells like–,"

"Please, it's alright," Vergil interrupted holding a hand up to halt her speaking. "I know what you are going to say, so I'll save you the trouble," he flatly stated.

"You–, you do?" Beth said puzzled.

Vergil closed his eyes and folded his arms. "You're going to tell me that this is the worst date you've been on and that ... ," he took a breath, "... and that I'm cantankerous and a curmudgeon."

Beth arched her eyebrows in surprise at his choice of words for himself. She tried to open her mouth to speak but he simply continued.

"I'm stodgy, humorless, intimidating, _completely_ unbearable to be around and as my brother would put it, a complete ... dud," Vergil finished in one breath. As his eyes opened they met with Beth's own, staring at him bewildered. Surely confessing his faults freely would convince her to not like him, wouldn't it? _Of course, this had to work._

She stared at him speechless for a moment, then narrowed her eyes. "Uh, I was just going to say that this is the strangest date I've ever been on," she flatly stated.

Vergil frowned feeling foolish and slightly embarrassed at his sudden outburst. It was no matter though. He was positive that the events that transpired _and_ his own persona would have made her disinterested in the whole thing and in _him_. And if it didn't, he had just spelled it out for her. This girl surely wouldn't have anything to do with him, let alone want to kiss him. _Right? Yes, that should have done it – dammit._

"But, I wanted to tell you something," she hurriedly added.

Vergil raised a brow.

"As _weird_ of a date as this has been, I –," the timid girl nervously continued and took a small step closer to him. She looked down and absently pulled at her shirt hem as she paused in thought.

Vergil looked down at her, his heart pounding in anticipation of what she was going to say.

Beth took a deep breath. "I like you," she quickly and boldly stated looking directly up into his pale eyes.

Vergil's eyes widened as he locked gazes with her. She had blurted out the words he had hoped would not come from her lips – not _now_ and not _here_ anyway. He swallowed back nervously then calmly stated, "I see." _No, dammit!_

Beth continued, "You might just be all those things you stated – and add in there a bit stuffy and _slightly_ pompous ..."

Vergil's face scrunched in a frown at her latter comment.

"But–," Beth nervously continued, "After all that, I still like you. It's all of those things I guess that make you, _you_. And ... I think it's kinda cute." She finished shyly, cheeks flushed, looking away from him.

Vergil stood rigid and stared down at the timid girl in awe. Never had anyone – _a girl_ – told him that she liked him for being _him! Dammit all. Why now?_

Vergil was torn between wanting to rip something apart and ... kiss her. _NO! Curse this damnable wager! Any other time this would have been pure bliss, but this – this was certainly hell._

Beth then looked up at the silent Vergil anxiously waiting for his response. He stared down at her, into those beautiful hazel eyes and drank it in. _Maybe... maybe I could steal just a moment. One quick moment – one small kiss. Dante would never know. How would he?_

Vergil continued his inward debate as he slowly leaned forward toward Beth. _But IF Dante found out, then I'll have lost the bet and he'd never let me live it down. Never. No I mustn't! But, that's IF Dante found out. One small quick kiss, just a taste. Nothing more. He'll never know. _Vergil was leaning in so close now, he could feel her breath and smell the strawberry chapstick on her delectable lips. _Just a taste._

Beth closed her eyes and slowly parted her lips in anticipation to what she thought was coming. She felt her body tense and shiver at the same time.

Vergil clenched his fists and started to close his eyes. This was it. He'd do what he absolutely forbid himself from doing here. He was going to kiss her. Then suddenly right before their lips were mere moments from connecting, Vergil stopped.

"I'm sorry. I can –," he breathed out and slowly began to pull away.

_BAM!_

"Rubbers!"

The front door of the cabin few open with such force it struck Vergil from behind and sent him lunging forward – right into Beth. The couple's lips met and locked. Vergil's eyes opened wide as he grabbed onto her shoulders for stability from being thrown at her. On the other side of the door stood Dante.

"Ah-_ha!_," he yelled as he held out an accusing pointer finger at his sibling.

Vergil immediately pushed off Beth, forcefully enough that he shoved the girl to the wall.

"You kissed her! I _knew_ you would! You lose! HA!" Dante loudly taunted with a large triumphant grin on his face.

"NO I DIDN'T! You idiot, you _pushed_ me into her with the door!" Vergil feverishly wiped his lips with the back of his hand and protested.

"Dude I don't care how you did it. Your lips touched, you sucked face, and you ... LOSE!" Dante retorted, beaming.

"That's not fair! I'd only kiss someone if I were attracted to them, I was only forced on her!" Vergil argued.

"_What?_" Beth gasped as her eyes grew wide.

Vergil spun to look at her. "No! That's not what I meant. I _meant_ that I didn't want to kiss you unless I was attracted to you. But I didn't kiss you cause I wasn't attracted to you – ," Vergil quickly tried to explain, miserably stumbling over his words.

Beth's mouth dropped open and she stared at him in shock.

"No! That's not what I mean either!" Vergil flustered.

"Hey, what's that smell?" Dante suddenly interrupted and sniffed at the air. "Do you guys smell that? It kinda smells like –,"

Vergil gnashed his teeth then spun back around to address Dante. "YOU! This is all _your_ fault!" He viciously growled. "If I hadn't made this stupid bet with you in the first place –," he said shoving a finger at Dante's nose.

"What bet?" Beth narrowed her eyes.

Vergil turned quickly back to her. "The bet that I would want to kiss you and that Dante wouldn't be able to score with blondie," he feverishly blurted out.

Beth stared at him speechless, not truly believing what was going on. Her eyes were on the brink of either flowing tears or shooting daggers.

"Looks like I _totally_ win, bro," Dante casually shrugged his shoulders and proudly spoke up as Vergil turned back to glare at him. "I got _mine_ right where I want her. And you thought I couldn't do it," Dante scoffed. "No challenge here, she was _way_ too easy," he continued with a confident smug grin on his face.

"Really?" Vergil inquired, suddenly interested. "Do tell _more_, brother." A sly grin curled across his lips as he folded his arms.

"Well, it didn't take much really," Dante bragged. "At least not for _that_ one."

"What did you say?"

Dante cringed at the sound of Niki's stern voice cutting the air behind him. He froze wide eyed and swallowed hard. "BABE!" He pasted a wide smile on his face before spinning around with open arms. "What are you doin–"

WHACK!

"OW!" Dante yelped and held his cheek.

The petite blonde had heard it all. She had followed Dante just moments after he had returned and arrived to hear the words he spoke of her. She had slapped Dante across the face with such force that surprisingly it made his head turn and he stumbled back a step.

Vergil stood there with a grin of delight on his face reveling in the fact that Dante's luck had just run out. He then turned back to Beth to continue another go at his explanation.

SMACK!

"OW!" Vergil groaned and rubbed his cheek.

Beth had hauled her hand across his face before he could get a word out. She stared at him fiercely. "How _could_ you? I said I liked you." She regretfully replied with glazed eyes.

"Come on," Niki stormed past the sore brothers, pushing her way through them and snatched Beth by the arm. The girls grabbed their things and headed back toward the door.

The brothers stood there sulking and eyeing their scorned dates huff up to them. Vergil opened his mouth to speak once more.

SMACK!

"OW!" Vergil whined and held his cheek. "What the _hell_ was that for?" he moaned.

Niki had slapped him just as she approached. The hellbent blonde stared up at him and huffed. She then thrust her pointer finger up at his nose. "Cause you ... you _look_ like him!" She fired as she pointed to Dante who hopped back and cringed from her wrath.

"What!" Vergil barked and went wide eyed at her absurd accusation as the two girls shoved past them and headed for the Jeep.

"Babe!" Dante called out and quickly started walking toward the car.

Dante reached the driver's side and pleaded with his date to change her determined mind. "Babe, wait, don't go! It was all a huge misunderstanding. Really!," Dante feverishly pleaded.

"Suck it, four eyes. I've heard all I need to hear from you," Niki growled and revved up the engine.

Vergil had wandered out as well, and stood just a few feet from the passenger side where Beth sat. His cheek was a large red welt in contrast to his usual pale complexion. Beth turned and eyed him standing there with his head slightly hung.

"So –," Vergil sheepishly looked up. "I suppose this means you probably don't want me beta reading for your stories," he woefully asked.

Beth rolled her eyes and sighed in disgust as she just looked away and raised the window.

"I'll take that as a 'no'," Vergil somberly finished.

Dante was still trying to convince Niki that it all was a huge misunderstanding as she threw the car into drive and took off. Dante still persistent, ran along side the Jeep following it down the trail away from the cabin.

"Babe wait! Don't go. I'll totally make it up to you, I swear. Anything!" Dante yelled along side the moving vehicle.

Vergil let out a heavy sigh as he strolled along the trail following Dante and the Jeep.

"Babe! I didn't mean any of what I said, really! It was all just a big huge joke. Okay? I give up, you got me. It's totally ALL my fault, don't go!" Dante pleaded as he was running out of road.

"Babe. BABE!" Dante yelled one final time as the Jeep turned onto the main road and picked up speed.

Dante stood sulking with his head hung as Vergil finally approached. Vergil walked up with his arms casually folded behind his back and stopped in front of Dante.

"Well," Vergil sighed.

"Yeah," Dante understandingly replied.

The two brothers then slowly made their way back up the trail to the cabin.

"You know, Dante," Vergil started. "It would seem that technically we _both_ lost the wager," he casually informed his brother.

Dante looked over at Vergil. "Yeah, I suppose you're right," he replied with a heavy sigh.

As the two finally rounded the last corner of the trail, they came into sight of the retreat and stopped abruptly. In in front of them stood the cabin – on fire. Dante's carelessness of throwing the burnt matches in the trash with the oil soaked rag had proved to be fatal to the dwelling. The hot matches had smoldered and finally ignited the oiled rag. The old dry and decaying building caught fire quickly. Flames had spread rapidly from the kitchenette area to the rest of the cabin now, engulfing it in a blazing inferno. Wood popped and creaked as parts of the roof started caving in while flames completely consumed the building.

Dante looked over at his brother who just stood still, watching the fire. Neither brother spoke a word. Dante then eyed a large fallen tree stump over to his side and walked over, plunking down on it with a heavy sigh. Vergil silently followed and proceeded to seat himself next to his brother, their backs to the burning structure. As Dante propped his elbows on his knees and hung his head in his hands, he thought this certainly was one epic failure he would never live down.

Suddenly Dante heard a strange noise coming from next to him where Vergil sat. He slowly picked up his head and looked over at his brother. Vergil's head was bent down and his face was scrunched up in a most peculiar manner that Dante had ever seen.

"Uh, Verg, are you, okay?" Dante furrowed his brow, confused at his brother's actions.

Vergil didn't respond but twisted the strange look on his face as he began to turn a light shade of pink. He then started to make odd sounds Dante thought resembled something like a mix of grunting and wheezing. Becoming concerned at this strange behavior, Dante bent in closer to get a better look at his brother.

"Vergil, dude, are you ... okay? Vergil?" Dante inquired again, looking at him apprehensively.

Suddenly Vergil burst out in to the most awkward sort of hysterical laugh, causing Dante to jump back at his outburst.

"You –," Vergil managed to get out between his fit, "You finally did it to yourself!" He mustered out between his bizarre convulsions, holding his stomach as Dante frowned at him. After a few more moments, Vergil calmed down from his abnormal fit and wiped a tear from the corner of his eye.

"Dude, do us a favor and don't _ever_ laugh again. That was scary," Dante said, suspiciously eyeing his sibling.

The boys sat in silence for a while, not a word spoken between them as the cabin burned in the background. Then casually they turned around to see a smoldering pile of charred wood where the little shack once stood. The only thing that remained was the skeleton of the stone fireplace that still stood where the living area once existed.

"Well," Vergil then spoke up. "I suppose that if we leave now we'll get back–," he paused momentarily, calculating in his head. "Tomorrow," he finished flatly.

"So," Dante started slowly. "Since I lost, I got to stay in these _dork threads_ for a whole month then. But since you lost the bet too that means you gotta wear this _chump gear_ for a whole month, right?" he inquired as he removed the dark framed glasses he was wearing and handed them toward Vergil.

"Yes brother," Vergil replied as he took the faux spectacles from Dante's hand and slowly raised them to his face. "Regrettably so," he pensively added and slid the glasses over his nose. Honorable to the end, both brothers knew that each other would hold true to their ridiculous bets.

Dante eyed Vergil, examining him for a moment. "Ya know, that's a good look for you," he honestly replied.

"Really," Vergil replied with mild interest.

"Hey, so then this means that you _also_ have to buy me pizza for a whole month too. Am I right?" Dante suddenly perked up.

His brother didn't respond and with a deep sigh simply stood from the log and started to walk toward the trail leading home. Even when he lost, Vergil thought somehow Dante always seemed to win.

"Dude, I'm totally cool with whatever you want to get," Dante interestedly added as he stood up from the log and started to follow his sibling. "Pepperoni, sausage, onions ...," Dante slowly started naming off acceptable toppings. "Ooh, just no olives. Olives suck," he absently added, absorbed in his thoughts of pizza trimmings.

Vergil never responded and seemed to pick up his pace, leaving Dante wandering a ways behind.

"So can we get pizza tonight? I mean, _IF_ we get back tonight. And is that technically _one_ pizza a day for a month or can I –," Dante began to inquire as he looked up to see Vergil now walking a sizable distance away from him, and picking up his pace even faster now.

"Hey, bro?"

" ... "

"Dude, wait up!"

" ... "

"Vergil!"

* * *

Well, the time has come for this story to end. I guess this would be my first multi-chapter fan fic I've completed. Yea! I want to thank everyone who's kept up with it from the first chapter and enjoyed reading this silly story. And if you've just recently come across it, thanks for reading through! :D

I've had a ton of fun writing this. I didn't know how it would be writing the devil boys in such a silly scenario. And I got to tell you that I really enjoyed writing them in this kind of situation. So much so, that if you liked this I have also just posted the next tale of funness called 'Dopple Devil'.

Yours Truly,

N.


End file.
